This year, both Carlton Draught (Australia’s number one draught beer) and the Carlton Brewery celebrate their 150th anniversary.
And being Aussie - from the land of any reason for a beer with friends - Carlton is celebrating its ‘Amber Jubilee’ all year.
CUB general manager of marketing Andrew Meldrum said, “We thought 150 years of beer is worthy of a jubilee, and given it’s beer, we thought why not an Amber Jubilee.”
The campaign began in March with an online campaign of three ads by Clemenger BBDO Melbourne. CUB also began searching then for the best 150 Australian pub stories then. These are being rewarded with a commemorative plaque plus $150 to put over the bar.
“We’re looking for all stories big and small; it might be the one about the kangaroo called Joe who used to hop in to a bar in Gippsland for a cheeky pot of Carlton once in a while, or the time David Bowie filmed ‘Let’s Dance’ in the public bar – whatever the story, we want to hear it,” Meldrum announced at the launch.
An official portrait was also commissioned to mark the Amber Jubilee. It became the feature item in an exhibition of memorabilia that was open to the public at the Carlton Brewhouse in Abbotsford, Melbourne until the end of April.
…And still to come is a limited edition heritage brew, that will be available in selected pubs, plus commemorative products for the retail trade.
This week, Carlton launched two new Jubilee items – a retro TV commercial and a retro white Carlton Draught can. The ad is hilarious – or, if you were an adult in the 80s, humbling. Clemenger BBDO Melbourne adapted an archival Carlton Draught ad originally created by George Patterson in the 1980s and is running it throughout July.
The ad was slightly refined from its eighties version to talk about the release of the bit you all want to know about - the retro white cans, available for a limited time as part of the 150th anniversary celebrations. The cans were adapted slightly too. Production techniques and materials have come a long way in forty years.
The Carlton Draught can used in the '80s.
Says McKeown: "The white can would be burned into the memories of many of those old enough to drink in the late seventies and early eighties. The replica white cans have been released as a tip to the history and heritage of Carlton Draught however the liquid is the same great tasting Carlton Draught consumers enjoy today."
