The newest campaign from Kokanee and Grip Limited takes consumers to a whole new extreme: gathering snow from seven mountains to make unique Kokanee Peak Brews.
A series of web videos follows local heroes (like ski patroller Rocket Miller or grooming supervisor Gunner Ireland) as they battle avalanches, jump out of planes, and pilot Snow Cats on western Canada’s most famous peaks, including Whistler Blackcomb, Lake Louise, and Marmot.
British Columbia and Alberta are the campaign’s primary focus. “Kokanee is born and bread in the mountains. It has history and connection,” said Martin McClorey, account director at Grip.
“Kokanee has a legacy of being a quirky brand. The lengths we went to get the snow pays homage to that,” said Randy Stein, partner, creative, Grip.
The documentary style allowed the campaign’s story to develop as the team went through production. “We went out a bit blind,” said Scott Dube, partner, creative, Grip. “The plan was to get a local hero to capture the snow at the peak. But it really evolved as we found those people.”
The individuals featured in the videos are well known in their communities. “These guys embody the mountain lifestyle in Western Canada, and we wanted to ensure we represented them very authentically,” said Todd Allen, marketing director at Kokanee. The digital shorts allow Kokanee and Grip to tell a range of stories: the Lake Louise video has a dramatic explosion, while the Fernie video makes a quirky nod to sasquatch.
“B.C. locals have a lot of pride about their mountain, and if their mountain is in their beer, there is a lot of pride in that,” Stein said. “[Skiiers and snowboarders] know how amazing it feels to be out there on a fresh powder day. Peak Brew is our way of bringing fans that much closer the to the mountains they love,” Allen said.
The campaign launched this week with a series of digital shorts and new packaging for the Peak Brews. The media buy focuses on out-of-home, digital videos and social media.
