Heineken’s Non-Alcoholic Beer Ads Take Inclusivity To A New Level

By Dan Solomon , July 05, 2017

WHAT: The first ads for Heineken’s non-alcoholic “0.0” beer

WHO: Heineken, Publicis Milan

WHY WE CARE: Beer ads have gotten shockingly inclusive in recent years. Seth Rogen and Amy Schumer starred in a series for Bud Light that introduced the phrase “gender is a spectrum” to NFL fans last football season, Coors Light inspired beer drinkers with stories of hardship, and Heineken introduced bigots to the people they think they hate. But one group has been left out of the inclusivity bonanza in the beer ad world: Non-drinkers.

That’s to be expected, since it’s beer—but it’s a group that includes people who live with alcoholism, members of various religions, and others whom sensitive brands ought to be considerate of. And Heineken, in this “Open To All” campaign, is doing a good job of it.

The campaign’s 60-second spot sees people from all walks of life (and an alien, sure) make their way to the bar to crack a cold one—before the gravelly-voiced narrator realizes that, whoops, the “come-one, come-all” spirit of the ad leaves out those who aren’t drinking that night. The ad never openly references alcoholics or others whose aversion to a regular Heineken might be a long-term thing—it refers to “you, when you don’t fancy alcohol”—but the message that the good times every beer ad promises are available to people who don’t want to get drunk is a nice one.

The rest of the campaign, which includes eight ads showcasing a variety of people who might not want alcohol, reinforces the spirit of the first spot in a casual, low-key manner—which is, in the end, right in the spirit of inclusiveness.