Beer brand 4 Pines revisits WW2 in latest campaign

The Battle of Kolsch, launched today was designed and directed by Sixty40’s Mark Simpson and plays upon the story of Kölsch beer’s beginnings with its inception in Cologne, Germany.

The campaign focuses on 4 Pines removal of the umlaut over the o in Kölsch beer to get around the appellation d'origine contrôlée which states that you can't make the beer outside of Cologne. The cheeky move, reminiscent of Chinese brand piracy, is celebrated in a print, TV, radio and online video campaign. 

Dentsu Australia’s creative director Pete Ogden said it had been an enjoyable collaboration.

“It’s been refreshing to be allowed to have lots of fun at someone else’s expense—namely the brewers of Cologne,” he said. “It’s also been great keeping our relationship going with Heckler and Nylon, who once again have delivered above and beyond what was called for.”

The spot harks back to the style of wartime era newsreel films and includes a vintage style animation.

Director Mark Simpson said it needed to be funny and irreverent to capture the imagination of modern beer drinkers.

“We were able to squeeze in a burp-fart, of which I'm very proud,” he said. 

The 60 and 30 second spots were released today alongside print executions with sponsorship screenings starting at the Australian Museum, of which the 4 Pines Brewing Co. is a sponsor.

Creative Credits:

Client: 4 Pines Brewing Co.

Agency: Dentsu Australia

Agency Creative Director: Peter Ogden

Heckler Executive Producer: Will Alexander

Sixty40 Creative Director/Animation Director: Mark Simpson

Heckler Senior Producer: Jayne da Costa

Design/FX: Holger Gutknecht

2D Animation: Rajit Sharma

Editor: Mark Simpson

Production Coordinator: Tyrone Estephan

Music: Nylon