Strongbow Pens Hopeful Love Letter to the Great British Summertime

Strongbow, the number one cider brand in the UK, has unveiled its first ever multimillion-pound master brand campaign, ‘Refreshing the Nation’. Hitting the air on 3rd August, the 30” film pays homage to the Great British summer showcasing there is a Strongbow for everyone, whatever the weather, come rain or shine, throughout the British summer and beyond.

An emotional and uplifting look at what makes our summers so special from rainy BBQs to picnics in the park, the film finishes with a joyous and hopeful pub scene with one the UK’s most exciting new bands, The Snuts, performing their cover of The Lovin’ Spoonful’s 'Summer in the City'.

This love letter was filmed pre-lockdown and begins and ends in the great British pub showcasing the fresh and modern rebrand of the range which includes Strongbow Original, Strongbow Dark Fruit and its ultra-low variant Strongbow Dark Fruit 0.5%, Strongbow Cloudy Apple and the newest member of the pack Strongbow Rosé.

Launched only five months ago, Strongbow Rosé is already the most successful cider launch this year and is comfortably the number one rosé cider in the market.

Rachel Holms, cider marketing director at HEINEKEN says: “’Refreshing The Nation’ is our love letter to the great British summer. From pubs to parks and day to night, we wanted to pay homage to the relatable moments that celebrate the best of Britain, whatever the circumstance. Filmed before lockdown, what was to be a celebration of the summer is now a reminder of what’s hopefully to come over the months ahead. With Strongbow being loved by so many it was important this was an upbeat and positive master brand campaign showcasing the inclusiveness of the Strongbow portfolio and its importance in the market."

She continues: "From the runaway success and cult following of Strongbow Dark Fruit through to the category building Strongbow Rosé. Thirty-three per cent of our drinkers are new to cider this year, so we are growing the category of a product so important to British pubs and British agriculture. Our apples are from Herefordshire and over the last few months we’ve also removed all artificial colours, flavours and sweeteners.”

Crucially, Strongbow is also supporting the re-opening of the great British pub with their BTL ‘Strongbow Nights’ which will help thousands of pubs host their own weekly pub quiz or music bingo event with assets to drum up attention during quieter mid-week nights. The brand will also be continuing its Halloween activation in both on and off-trade in October which delivers kits to 8,000 pubs to help them decorate and drive footfall on this key occasion.