SapientNitro & Michael Winterbottom Celebrate the Best of British Beer

A year since the British beer industry united to celebrate the best of British brewing by launching Let There Be Beer sees the movement evolve into There's a Beer For That, a £10m integrated campaign featuring a new advert created by SapientNitro and the first TV spot by features director Michael Winterbottom.

Winterbottom, who is best known for ‘The Trip' and '24-Hour Party People’, directed the ad that spearheads the new campaign, designed to show Britons that there is a wide variety of beers that perfectly suit a wide variety of occasions. This is SapientNitro’s first work for Britain's Beer Alliance, since the agency won the integrated advertising account in May.

Director, Michael Winterbottom comments: “This is the first time I've directed a TV commercial. The idea was simple – to film a cross-section of people around the country enjoying a beer with a meal. I like beer and I like food, so it was hard to think of a reason not to do it.”

The spot was lit by Oscar nominated DoP Sean Bobbitt (12 Years A Slave) and features people from all walks of life around the UK enjoying a variety of different beers in a variety of different settings, demonstrating that there's a style of beer to suit most people`s tastes.

Shot in a documentary style with a 250-strong cast in London, Liverpool, Manchester, Lancashire, Yorkshire and Wales, the majority of the people in the ad were street cast to give a more natural chemistry, creating an authentic dynamic. 

The commercial is accompanied by a ‘making of' film, which will run on the dedicated website beerforthat.com. It features an interview with Michael Winterbottom and includes behind-the-scenes footage.

“There’s a Beer For That” will break nationwide on TV during ‘Downton Abbey’ on Sunday, November 2nd. The ad, available in 30 & 60-second cuts, is supported by an integrated campaign, which will include digital, PR and social media activity developed in conjunction with a range of other agencies. 

David Cunningham, Programme Director at the British Beer and Pub Association, said: “This campaign has been designed to reignite Britain’s love of beer and to show its appeal across the full breadth of multi-cultural Britain. We wanted to demonstrate the quality, diversity and the versatility of beer.”

Mark Hunter, Executive Creative Director at SapientNitro, added: “Our goal was to present an honest depiction of the incredible diversity of both people and beers found in this country. Given his brilliant work on ‘The Trip’, there really was no one better to bring that story to life than Michael Winterbottom.”