Aguila's Packaging Makes You Crave Food

It’s not just our social lives that have significantly changed since the pandemic, but we are also experiencing anxious moods more often. Against such a background, it is not surprising to see that our conversation turns to how much alcohol people consume during these times. So, are we really drinking more, or are we just booze hoarders? Alcohol Change UK analyzed this via a study and discovered that people are drinking differently as a result of the pandemic, mentioning that this drinking habit stretches in two directions. People have either stopped drinking or significantly reduced the amount of alcohol in their lives, or have started to drink more frequently under lockdown.

For the latter category, ABInBev’s Aguila Beer, Colombia’s leading beer brand, has a simple message: Drink responsibly! Of course, the brand can’t stop you from drinking as much as you want. However, it suggests that you consider the idea of not drinking on an empty stomach. Consuming alcohol on an empty stomach means that its side effects will be triggered faster and will be more intense. Food slows down this process, reducing the speed at which the alcohol is absorbed into your body.

Home delivery services, both for food and alcoholic beverages, continue to be used, so the beer company joined forces with Rappi, the largest delivery app in Colombia, to literally carry out a good message directly on their doormat. The “CRAVING SIXPACKS” is an initiative that promotes responsible drinking, by tricking people into thinking they got food instead of alcohol. To play with their perception, Aguila replaced its packaging with that used by fast-food restaurants.

So how does this work? You go online, order Aguila beer, and wait for the delivery. The booze arrives disguised as iconic fast-food packaging such as a cheeseburger meal, pizza, or fried chicken. The duo says that this “optical illusion” makes people crave for food as they drink. Each Six Pack contains a discount coupon for Rappi.

The campaign, carefully imagined by creative agency MullenLowe SSP3, will run on social media, with ads for Aguila Beer disguised as prints for fast-food using the #ResponsibleCraving (#AntojoResponsable).

Miguel Merino, Marketing Director for Aguila Beer, said: “For Aguila Beer, smart drinking is a strong pillar in our brand’s construction. With sales of Aguila Beer on Rappi rising by 33% in May alone, we wanted to encourage responsible consumption of alcohol at home. By putting the idea to eat while drinking right in the hands of our consumers, we hope to get people’s attention and change their behaviors in a disruptive way.”

Carlos Andrés Rodríguez, Chief Creative Officer at MullenLowe SSP3, continued: “When working with Aguila Beer on smart drinking campaigns, our aim is always to change people’s behavior. Eating while drinking is the best way to drink responsibly, so through something as simple as changing the packaging to trigger a food craving as soon as the beer arrives, we hope we can encourage people to drink responsibly at home.”

The campaign is a follow-up to The Beer Cap Project launched earlier this year, through which Aguila asked other brands to join its initiative to promote responsible drinking.