VB to bring diggers’ families together in honour of Anzac Day
VB today announced its search to bring together the families of the diggers pictured in the iconic image of twelve Anzacs that inspired the original Raise A Glass campaign.
The campaign launch centres around an emotive TVC created by Droga 5 that features Bree Till, the widow of serviceman Brett Till, who died on active service in Afghanistan in 2009.
The idea for the reunion was prompted by two Australian families who approached VB, believing their relatives to be in the photo. The diggers were part of the 13th Platoon, D Company in the 2nd/1st Machine Gun Battalion stationed in Egypt 1941.
This year VB is donating $1m to campaign partners Legacy and the Returned and Services League (RSL). Over $4.7m has been raised since 2009 when the campaign began. The donations go towards providing care and support for the service community.
VB senior brand manager, Craig MacLean said: “VB is now one of the single biggest contributors to supporting veterans in Australia, we’re very proud of our ability to help. This campaign has increased awareness not only of the diggers but also the very real issue of the 50,000 servicemen and women who have served Australia in the last 15 years.
“As we do every year with Raise A Glass we’re encouraging people to think about one service person they would like to ‘raise a glass’ to on Anzac Day. We’re also asking Australians to dig through their relatives’ service records -it could be someone’s grandfather, father, brother or uncle in the photo, and this year we want the public to help us tell their stories to the nation.”
VB has also released a special edition Raise A Glass stubby which includes the emblems of the Returned and Services League (RSL) and Legacy Australia.
Credits
Agency: Droga5 Sydney
Writer: David Nobay / Cam Blackley
CD: Cam Blackley
ECD: Duncan Marshall
Creative Chairman: David Nobay
Head Of Broadcast: Paul Johnston
Business Director: Esther Knox
Senior Business Manager: Patrick Rowley
Production Company: Exit Films
Director: Amy Gebhart
Producer: Susie Cole
DOP: Andrew McLeod
Editing and Post production : The Butchery
Music and Sound : Final Sound
I know I know! This has be discussed at length in the past. But I still have issues with a brand associating itself with ANZAC day. I am starting to feel like it is me that needs to move on. Be that as it may, I don’t drink VB due to this. And no I am not joking. It really does irk me.
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Very few brands could pull this off but VB does.
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Kinda gave me the same feeling as the McDonald’s “Thank you. No … thank you” ad years ago. As an advertising person, I cringed. No brand is big enough to attach itself to ANZAC Day, sorry.
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@ Robert Stock – I do like the Boffswana name pure gold! But the Grey Ghost is right.
End of the day nothing VB can do will stop the decline in the sales volume of the beer over the next few years. People have changed and kids are just not drinking it. Regardless of the spin!
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The general public probably think the $1m in 2012 and $4.7m since 2009 is a worthy cause. I reckon it’s mostly marketing people that have a problem with it…
There’s worse things VB could be doing with their money.
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For me it’s the way we encourage promoting the use of alcohol as a solution for pain, as the behavioural foundation for patriotism, and as the “drug-that’s-nothing-like-a-drug” for a culture that’s already up there with the most physically sick in the world today.
I mean what sort of sorry state is a country’s philosophy in and how bad is the example is being set for future generations when the call for fund raising for victims of war bears the attitude and slogan of “Raise a Glass”?!
… but wishing for the Australian culture to move away from the disease model of self-esteem and under achievement has about as much chance of popularity as my wishing for a TV show entitled “The Fittest Winner”.
🙂
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I don’t know how I feel about VB aligning itself ANZAC day. At the end of the day they’re trying to make money off the back of our fallen soldiers and to me it doesn’t feel right. They could have taken a completely different approach.
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Of course it’s “Marketing”, but why can’t Cause-Related Marketing be celebrated and encouraged? I’d much rather see this than 90% of the mindless retail garbage currently on TV.
Props to VB for the millions they have donated. If the RSL and Legacy are on board who is anyone else to suggest this is somehow underhand?
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The diggers in the picture look like they enjoy a VB, just like i am sure the diggers of today will raise a glass and thank VB for the support.
Proudly Australian. Simple as that.
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Making money off dead soldiers with a product a lot turned to and couldn’t handle because of what happened to them is not right.
How many alcoholics did the war create? Oh well, as long as they make money off them.
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I’m with Scotty.
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I don’t have a problem with a brand attaching itself with Anzac day – a lot of charities rely on corporate support in order to operate and the focus of the TVC is reminding us of the sacrifices that soldiers and their families make in order to serve the nation rather than the brand (if I’d seen it on TV I wouldn’t have even noticed it was for VB).
Corporate sponsorship of an event associated with such sadness and respect is risky – but they’ve done it tastefully.
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As other commenters have mentioned, using an alcohol product to market a sense of patriotism is just so mind numbingly stupid it’s not funny.
I can understand CUBs thoughts. They realize that in the not too distant future, they too will be scrutinized like the tobacco companies of today. What better way to ensure ones survival than to piggy back onto the honest cause of the RSL and Legacy. This is only the beginning of the relationship. In years to come, alcohol companies will cry out saying “We provide millions to returned soldiers and their families, please don’t tax us.”
Aligning themselves with this issue is completely unethical in my opinion, but It’s all about survival.
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If it truly was about the ANZAC’s the VB branding would not be necessary.
it really doesn’t get much worse. A shit beer riding the back of a good cause.
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Quite franky I don’t really give a shit about how the money is getting to these women and servicemen. So long as somebody is doing it, and helping them out, that’s all that matters. Look at the bigger picture people.
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Nice, right up until the beer name appeared.
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At JayZ, your “I don’t care how the funds get to them” viewpoint misses the whole argument.
The issue lies with Corporations who promote addictive and health destroying products piggy backing onto legitimate causes such as the ANZACs.
I’m sure the great majority would love to see this banned, even if it meant having to be levied $25 a year towards a tightly regulated and well managed ex-serviceman’s fund at tax time.
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Someone said to those of us on the pro-ethics side “proudly Australian” ???
Um, yeh right mate.
Gotta watch the word ‘pride’, especially when it’s encouraged by someone or something externally, as it’s often a cover for manipulation.
Can anyone see the irony that the government that should be coughing up all charity money in the first place also stands to benefit financially, as it does from the sale of all alcohol. (!)
ALCOHOL: the same wonder juice send more young Australians down the wrong path and at the very least towards disease and premature death.
Alcohol, the biggest killer of Australians.
Someone said to those of us on the pro-ethics side “look at the bigger picture”.
Um, yeh right mate.
Thanks for the tip.
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Well said Andrew. The fact that it is alcohol raises a whole different range of questions. No doubting it’s a very important and worthwhile cause but using a widow’s pain as the warm up for a call to action for their product? Creepy.
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Very moving
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If the ad is sympathic to ANZAC’s and is approved by RSL etc it should be fine.
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VB is using a photograph depicting soldiers enjoying a beer in mateship as they faced the fires of hell during WWII. Do you think the gents in this pic would mind that the beer brand they loved is seeking to reunite them with their families? Do you think they would mind that the beer brand they loved is raising over a million dollars every year to support returned servicemen and women? Do you research and you will find that VB sold not one case more in 2009 than they did in 2008 during the campaign period. Yet as volume of VB declines year on year they still donate a million dollars to this cause. Sometimes brands give back to communities without commercial gain, and this is one of those instances. No other brand could legitimately stand behind a campaign such as this. Also, i wonder how many of the detractors on this site reach into their own pockets to donate to such a cause?? … That’s what I thought.
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@Shaun McGovern
2 points
1/ Sorry I didn’t realise advertising was only done to increase sales during a campaign. Thanks for the lesson in marketing. I have no idea why I spent so much time at uni and in the industry learning there is more to marketing than a call to action.
2/ Making an assumption that others do not donate to worthy causes because they disagree with the way a brand is aligning itself with a cause smacks of immaturity and stupidity.
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I like it. Sincere work.
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I have no problem with this. Sensitively done and an appropriate strategy for VB given its heritage and it has the approval of the RSL and the widow of the soldier. It brings the ANZAC legacy into the modern era which I personally believe is very important as many young people are cynical about the role of our armed services.
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Would all the negative posters have issues if they were raising funds for reabilitating alcohol problems???
This is all about raising funds to Reabilitate families that have been touch by young Australian’s committing to the protection of Australia and her interests. I doubt any one of the negative posters has served within the Australian Defence force and seen first hand the issues that can come about from service to the family’s of these service men and women.
Yes the program gives VB great PR, but it is also helping promote a very worthy cause that is needed today and as long as we still have a defence force
Next you will be critising UNIBIC for making and marketing ANZAC Biscuts with 4% of sales going to the RSL. But hey they are also making money out of this so it should not be happening.
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@beam me up
1/ That’s funny, I could have sworn the mechanic was $1 from every case sold? Seems to link to sales as far as I can tell, which is the main beef people seem to have, using the emotion of Anzac day to sell more beer, which it doesn’t.
2/ So you can confirm that you did in fact make a personal donation to the RSL and/or Legacy? Perhaps you should write a strongly worded letter to the RSL and Legacy to suggest where else they should get that $1 million from.
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It’s beautifully executed, hats off. But the fact remains you’re selling something off the back of a widow’s loss. I said it in the other thread, the only people allowed to use ANZAC Day to sell something is Legacy. A polished ad, and it is, doesn’t make it right. Sorry. And I don’t speak without relation to the subject. Next time, can we all tell our clients, no.
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I’m not sure how I feel about VB attaching itself to ANZAC Day and calling it patriotism.
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Australia’s worst beer is VB. It is awful. Tagging itself to Anzac day is awful. RSL’s are awful (full of soulless pokie playing zombies). VB is consumed more per head in RSL’s v swanky bars. Australia has social issues. Ad execs do little good for society ( 2nd to investment bankers); fact.
So there we have it. Absolute awfulness all round.
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