Boxing Cat Takes on Banal Beer in Super-Powered Animated Spot

R/GA Shanghai is behind the visual transformation of one of China’s first microbrewery brands, Boxing Cat. The broad sweep of work includes complete look and feel redesign, and bringing Boxing Cat’s newest craft beer to market via an integrated campaign.

With craft beer accounting for just 1% of total beer sales in China compared to around 14% globally, R/GA Shanghai’s role was to break down barriers to consideration, and drive trial amongst younger consumers who equate 'craft' with 'expensive' and a 'heavy taste'.

“We saw an enormous opportunity for Boxing Cat to be the contender that challenged those expectations, by leveraging their heritage as a local upstart and creating a distinct personality for the brand - a crazy, kickass one that is the antithesis of ordinary,” said R/GA Shanghai ECD, Terence Leong.

R/GA Shanghai approached the project holistically, creating a masterbrand from the logo up. A new tagline of 'Live With A Punch', coupled with a clean, pared-back design resulted in high-impact applications across labels, packaging, point-of-sale and promo materials, transforming and unifying Boxing Cat’s range of existing products.

To launch the new beer, R/GA Shanghai threw down the gauntlet, christening it ‘First Blood’ and adding the slogan 'Defeat Ordinary'. The brand personality was also brought to life, literally. Drawing inspiration from the logo, a superhero-like boxing feline protagonist, Louie, was developed for a series of animated films that see him pitted against banal beer.

“Louie is the embodiment of the brand. He’s there to challenge the ordinary, so we see him patrolling the streets, ridding them of mundane beer, one haymaker at a time,” said AB InBev Head of Craft & Specialities APAC, Nicolas Eduardo Morelli. “It’s beautiful. The storytelling is impactful and we’re incredibly happy with the result.”

Produced by Shanghai-based production company, Final Frontier, and directed and animated by Buenos Aires studio Le Cube, the 'First Blood' films are now being rolled out across China, appearing on Boxing Cat’s official WeChat, and in live superhero-themed launch parties in Shanghai and Beijing.