Rolling with Cruzcampo: Capturing Seville’s Spontaneous Spirit
In its latest campaign, Cruzcampo presents an ad icon in the making – a relaxed Sevillian pedalling atop a keg of the Heineken-owned Spanish lager, nonchalantly rolling down the beautiful, narrow cobbled streets of Seville. As he greets passersby, The Gipsy Kings’ rendition of ‘My Way’ sung in Spanish plays in the background, adding a vibrant soundtrack to the charming scene.
It’s a valiant effort to encapsulate the history and culture of one of Europe’s most beloved cities in just 60 seconds, making a bold play to stand out in the crowded Spanish beer market.
LBB’s Alex Reeves speaks to creatives Joe Moloney and Tom Devenport, and strategist Rachel Hamburger from Lucky Generals, as well as director Gary Freedman, to hear about the decisions behind the work.
LBB> How do you go about reflecting the history and culture of one of Europe’s most beloved cities in just 60 seconds?
Joe & Tom> We didn’t force anything. We weren’t looking for ‘tourist Seville’, more of a snapshot of what a day in the city may look like as you pass through it. Locals going about their business, with us, just happening to be passing through.
LBB> Who is this character and what were the main conversations you had while you were creating him?
Joe & Tom> It began as a more mythical-type approach – ‘the legend of the keg roller’ kind of thing. Then as we got into it, we realised he should reflect the people in the city. Be less of a legend and more of an everyman. He’s just a guy with a talent that he doesn’t ever get showy about. The people love him, he loves the people…he is the people.
LBB> How did you manage to shoot the keg balancing? Did you cast someone with special skills or is it all VFX wizardry?
Gary> It’s a surprisingly low-tech approach which really didn’t require much VFX wizardry or a specially skilled performer. Just a little rig with the keg being pushed like a lawn roller. Sometimes simple is best! The most important thing for me was that we could shoot ‘in the real’, a natural setting with daylight and have the actor free enough to be relaxed so it looked effortless.
LBB> Can you talk about the music? It's a really interesting creative choice. How did you land on this rendition of 'My Way'?
Gary> We were shooting at a food market and as we were about to leave, that song happened to be playing on the radio – it just captured a mood as the stall-holders were packing up for the day and voila.
Joe & Tom> We always knew the song should reflect his attitude. But when Gary grabbed us to listen to what was happening in the food market, it felt like a sign.
LBB> What were the major decisions in bringing the character to life in OOH?
Joe & Tom> We knew he’d become a recognisable asset for the brand, so we wanted him front and centre, once again showing a snapshot of life in Seville as he moves through. He gets a bit more attention in the OOH than the TV as there’s less time to tell the story of his laid-back demeanour. We needed to see his expression and poise clearly.
LBB> Are there any details or moments that you'd particularly like to highlight?
Joe & Tom> The horse winking as he goes by. Do you know how many carrots you have to give a horse to get it to wink? I think half the budget might have gone on carrots.
We also enjoyed adding a little nod to his keg-rolling heritage on the tiled bar mural at the left-end side of the bar.
LBB> There are a lot of beer brands out there. And Spain also is very well represented in that world. What's the strategy for slotting Cruzcampo into that and finding space for it?
Rachel> The thing that sets Cruzcampo apart from other beers is its authentic provenance from spirited Seville. The people in Seville live life a little differently than we do in the UK. Less bound by their schedule. Sevillians are a bit more relaxed, present and spontaneous in each moment.
So we decided to home in on the relaxed spontaneity of Sevillian culture and bring the true spirit of Seville to lager drinkers in the UK by encouraging them to take in the moment as it comes, or in other words to ‘Choose to Cruz’.
LBB> What was the business context and goals of the brief?
Rachel> Cruzcampo is already Spain’s number one draught lager. Our main business objective was to make it not only the number-one Spanish beer but the number-one lager beer in the UK. How? By bottling in the spontaneous spirit of Seville and encouraging all the nation to ‘Choose to Cruz’.
