Prime Lager Promises ‘Just Good Beer,’ Nothing More, Nothing Less

Propeller Brewing Co has launched a new campaign for its most drinkable beer offering, Prime Lager. ‘Just Good Beer’ kicks off summer with advertising that finally lets beer speak for itself. 

Propeller’s newest year-round brew, Prime Lager, launched in 2020 as Propeller’s answer to an easy, drinkable beer that pairs with anything (including nothing). Turns out, when a beloved Nova Scotia craft brewer tries its hand at lager, you end up with a beer that actually tastes like beer.

Propeller worked with Halifax-based creative agency Shortstop on the campaign strategy and creative. “The 12-pack beer market is becoming a noisy space,” said Propeller’s marketing manager Laurie Diver. “We needed a team that could think outside the box, literally and figuratively, to help us stand out from the crowd. From our very first meeting, it was clear that Shortstop was the right fit for the project. They don’t do cookie-cutter.”

‘Just Good Beer’ aims to bring Prime Lager to a wider audience with ads running now and into the fall, including social ads and out-of-home executions like billboards and digital ferry terminal posters. 

“The challenge we quickly identified was that the Propeller had an established name as a local craft brewer,” explained Peter Woodward, Shortstop’s managing director. “This also came as a potential barrier for Prime's desired audience. Giving Prime its own personality gives us the space to let that audience take a second look at Prime, and really feel that this is a beer for them.”

The ads do away with beer’s typical bells and whistles—epic landscapes, overly-spritzed beer cans, and florid flavour descriptions—to cut to the chase: It’s what’s inside that counts. And what’s inside is, well, beer. At $26.49 for a 12-pack, Prime’s price is as brutally honest as its marketing. 

“The packaging and approach that Propeller took with the beer really informed the personality for us,” said creative director Sam Archibald. “It's unpretentious—just a good-tasting lager, when the brewing industry is full of marketing gimmicks and characters. We want the voice to resonate with regular Nova Scotian beer drinkers. And turning the can on its side helps us make sure people know its name.” 

Prime is available at NSLC locations throughout Nova Scotia, at Propeller’s Gottingen Street and Quinpool Road taprooms in Halifax, and at their Dartmouth beer store location on Windmill Road. Prime also ships Canada-wide from drinkpropeller.ca.