Best Beer TV Adverts
The UK loves TV, and beer. So, watching beer TV adverts is naturally one of our favourite pastimes. Over the years many beer brands have vied for our attention with eye-catching adverts featuring everything from the funny to the flamboyant.
Here are some of the most memorable and iconic beer adverts on TV…
Guinness – Surfer
If something is widely considered one of the world’s best-ever TV ads in general, it’s obviously going to make it onto the list of best beer adverts. Guinness’ Surfer was a sensation when it first aired in 1999, and has gone on to be critically acclaimed – even being voted by The Drum readers as the second-best TV advert of all time!
This visually stunning commercial features a group of surfers waiting for the perfect wave. The slow-motion cinematography and the tagline “Good things come to those who wait” perfectly capture the essence of Guinness.
Budweiser – Wassup
When an advert spawns a catchphrase that goes from the bar to the playground, you know it’s made an impact. Budweiser’s “Wassup” beer advert became a cultural phenomenon in the early 2000s.
The simple yet catchy catchphrase, based on the advert which features friends casually greeting each other with “Wassup,” became widely popular. After initially airing as a Super Bowl ad in 2000, the campaign was mentioned in Scary Movie, quoted during interviews, and won a host of advertising gongs. It also made the cut for our best TV adverts of all time.
Foster’s – Good Call
Created by legendary agency adam&eveDDB, Foster’s Good Call series features many of the best beer adverts on TV. Main characters Brad and Dan offer advice to callers-in on a range of humorous problems and quandaries.
The witty and lighthearted nature of these adverts helped Foster’s establish a fun and relatable image among UK viewers, playing on the ‘Aussie-ness’ of the brand. The series of ads was popular, but also successful for the beer brand – with Marketing Week reporting that Foster’s saw a 70% growth during the first three years of the campaign.
Heineken – The Entrance
Signalling the start of Heineken’s rebrand as an official drink of 007 himself James Bond, The Entrance was one of the best adverts of 2011, and introduced the beer to a new image. With a rousing soundtrack provided by The Asteroids Galaxy Quest’s song Golden Age, the ad introduces a suave-suited character, who charms his way through a bustling embassy-style party.
The ad was created by agency Wieden+Kennedy, designed to bring the brand into a new contemporary and sophisticated light. While Heineken had been an official partner of the James Bond franchise since 1997, it wasn’t until the year after this stylish beer advert that the man himself actually sipped the Dutch beer. Coincidence?
John Smith’s – ‘Ave It
Tapping into its Britishness in the most on-brand way, John Smith’s series of ads starring comedian Peter Kay was a big hit in the 2000s. The ads were so successful, in fact, that they won multiple British Television Advertising Awards, and have long been a favourite of the general public.
The series of ads saw Kay in character in a range of hilariously awkward scenarios – from accidentally ruining a bride’s first dance to representing Great Britain at diving. Perhaps the most legendary of the cringeworthy beer ads sees Kay’s character kick a football way over the fence at training, followed by the now iconic catchphrase “‘ave it!”.
Does your favourite pint have a particularly stellar TV ad? Let us know your favourite beer adverts on TV below in the comments.