NEWS: KHBB unveils Carlsberg Xmas ad

KHBB has unveiled an atmospheric pre-Christmas commercial for Carlsberg

Pilsner that aims to show how the lager helps make ordinary events

extraordinary.

The 60-second film, ‘last orders’, opens on a busy bar and shows two men

drinking and laughing as the minutes fly by to closing time. As they

emerge from the pub, they literally stop in their tracks as they realise

there has been a major snowfall. The commercial’s soundtrack also stops

for a second as the camera surveys the whitened scene.

The subtitle asks ‘The best closing time in the world?’ before both of

the men agree that it is. The soundtrack then restarts as they hare off

into the snow like excited children, just as the word ‘probably’ flashes

up on the screen.

The ad was written by the KHBB copywriter, Paul Domenet, and art

directed by Peter Harold, the agency’s former head of art, and Keith

Courtney, its creative director. It was directed by Nick Hamm through

Cowboy Films.

The commercial, which was shot at the Flask pub in Highgate, North

London, breaks on national television from 1 December and runs until

21 December, backed by a pounds 1 million spend.

The soundtrack by Steve Harley and Cockney Rebel, entitled Make me Smile

(come up and see me), is to be re-released by EMI to coincide with the

ad’s launch.

The new vignette follows on from the ‘star of India’, ‘wedding’ and

‘beach cricket’ ads, which all showed similar scenes of people having

fun. One was set in an Indian restaurant, another at a summer wedding,

while the third showed people enjoying an impromptu game of cricket on

the beach.

KHBB has also turned round a tactical ad for Carlsberg to run this

Sunday during the Beatles TV documentary, the Beatles Anthology.

The ten-second short opens on a middle-aged man sitting at a table in

the Cavern, the Liverpool club where the Beatles originally made their

name. Picking up a pair of drumsticks, he taps on his glass of Carlsberg

as if were a drum. In frustration, he throws the sticks away and takes a

slug of lager.

At the end of the film, it is revealed that the musician is Pete Best,

the Beatles’ original drummer, who left before the band became world-

famous. The endline reads: ‘Probably the Pete Best lager in the world.’

This article was first published on Campaign