Office Cleaners Are Out in Heineken’s Ad Empowering Workers to Regain Control of Their Time

Heineken and Le Pub launch the latest iteration of its #workresponsibly initiative, less than a year after ‘The Closer’. In the new campaign, ‘The Office Cleaners’, the brand aims to help restore the work-life balance of workers by setting healthy boundaries at work so they can enjoy time with the ones who matter most.

According to research by the ADP Research Institute, workers worldwide take an average of 9.2 hours of unpaid overtime per week. The results of this issue, whilst widely reported on, has not prevented many from continuing to work late every night. The issue is particularly prevalent in Argentina, where 81% of people report working too much, especially compared to before the pandemic. With this in mind, Heineken has selected Argentina as the first market to launch ‘The Office Cleaners’ campaign.

To support the Heineken #workresponsibly call to arms, the brand and Le Pub created a dedicated activation that will entice people stuck in the office after hours to meet their friends at the bar.

Thanks to a partnership with many local corporate cleaning companies, office cleaners will wear vests over their uniforms displaying a QR code. Once scanned, the code gives access to vouchers for a rewarding beer for workers and their friends at the nearest bars.

Collaborating with award-winning filmmaker Ali Ali, Heineken and Le Pub, developed a 360° campaign including a hero film, as well as social and digital content. The film showcases an office employee working late at night, amidst mysterious flashing lights, shadows and noises. Our protagonist feels like they are being watched and, drawing similarities to a horror movie style, the film is underscored by a cover of the hit song "Somebody's Watching Me". We soon discover that she's not alone after all, and the office cleaners have arrived signalling that it's time to leave the office to join her friends at the bar.

"As a brand, we have always stood for fostering real moments of connection over a beer with friends,” said Bram Westenbrink, global head Heineken Brand. “We want to spark conversations about the importance of maintaining work-life balance and resisting societal pressures to be in a constant state of work. Campaigns like this help to encourage workers around the world to reprioritise social and leisure time with the people who matter."

"Data reports that people are working more hours now than before the pandemic, and this is becoming a societal issue all over the world. Overwork can jeopardize more than just our social lives,” said Bruno Bertelli, Global CEO Le Pub, Global CCO Publicis Worldwide, CCO Publicis Groupe Italy - the lead agency that created the campaign. “This witty activation incites workers to have not only a healthy work-life balance; it’s also a practical uplift to socializing and hanging out with friends.”