What do we want? To save the planet! When do we want it? Right now! How do we do it? By drinking beer!

We bet that you and your friends chanted this at least once when you hung out at a bar enjoying a couple of extra beers. Now that the alcohol has worn off you’d probably think that “Drink all the beer! Save the planet!” idea is as stupid as it sounds. But what if we told you that isn’t the booze in your head doing the thinking? What if you knew that drinking beer can actually help the planet take a pause from all the madness that’s going around?

This week’s #ThrowBrandThursday presents Brewtroleum, a biofuel that’s made from the yeast leftovers from the brewing process that beer company DB Breweries uses to make the popular alcoholic drink. More nicely put, every sip of DB Export translates as a breath of fresh air for our planet.

According to the brewing company, global beer consumption is on a decline. In New Zealand, statistics show that it is at its lowest point since the World War 2. To make Kiwis rediscover the joy of drinking a the hoppy beverage, but also to keep its promise to nature—namely to reduce its CO2 emissions—the Heineken-owned company reached Auckland-based agency Colenso BBDO and asked for some creative help to boost its sales.

The creatives certainly did an excellent job, promoting the brew and the beer-derived biofuel with nontraditional OOH ‘panels’ that were visible at gas stations across the North Island rather than going all in for a typical, boring ad.

Designed in partnership with experts at Gull Petroleum New Zealand, the DB Export Brewtroleum functioned as an eco-friendly fuel, which was even commercially available at 60 Gull petrol stations. Unfortunately, there were only 300,000 liters of biofuel made, for which the specialists used 58,000 liters of yeast slurry and 30,000 liters of ethanol.

Sean O’Donnell, DB Head of Domestic Beer Marketing, said that this was a great way to show to the audience that drinking beer can actually be a good thing: “This is a genuinely exciting opportunity. It’s a world first, we’re helping Kiwis save the world by doing what they enjoy best – drinking beer. We saw the opportunity to take the natural by-product of the brewing process and turn it into something that can genuinely help the environment. To now be selling it through a major petrol retailer like Gull shows the power of not just having smart ideas but turning them into reality.”

The first batch of Brewtroleum lasted approximately six weeks and is sadly no longer available. If you’re looking for a good alternative, then Gull suggest you should try Gull Force 10, a fuel that emits up to 8% less CO2. Plus, this biofuel is made with the help of New Zealand farmers!

The campaign was a real hit among the creative community and gave the agency, which has been producing world-class creative work for their clients since 1969, a good reason to celebrate: it scooped the Grand Prix for Outdoor at the Cannes International Festival of Creativity, a Wood Pencil at the D&AD Awards, and a Grand Clio for OOH at Clio Awards. It also sparked conversations at other prestigious awards events. We definitely think it’s a great concept… Maybe other breweries can follow suit!

Credits:

Client: DB Breweries

Agency: Colenso BBDO, Auckland

Creative Chairman: Nick Worthington

Executive Creative Director: Andy Blood

Senior Copywriter: Simon Vicars

Senior Art Director(s): Andre Sallowicz, Brett Colliver

Copywriter: Matt Lawson

Head of Account Management: Angela Watson

Senior Business Director: Brodie Reid

Project Director: Lucy Grigg

Account Manager: Mitch Lovich

Account Executive: Jacob Douglas

Head of Planning: Andy Mcleish

Digital Planning Director: Neville Doyle

Operations Director: Paul Courtney

Agency Producer: Scott Chapman

Head of Broadcast: Jen Storey

Experiential Business Director: Nick Harvey

Experiential Senior Account Manager: Kate Boekhorst

Client – Managing Director: Andy Routley

Client – Marketing Director: Maud Meijboom-van Wel

Client – Marketing Director – Head of Cider and Domestic Beer: Sean O’Donnell

Client – Marketing Manager: Tony Wheeler

Production Company (& City): Scoundrel, Sydney

Film Director(s): Tim Bullock

Production Company Producer(s): Adrian Shapiro

Post Production & Animation: Blockhead

Director of Photography: Crighton Bone

Sound Design: Franklin Road

Online Editor: Stephan Coorey

Editor: Adam Wills

PR Agency: Spark PR

Media Agency: Spark PHD

Images: Best Awards