New TV ad campaign for Strongbow Pear cider

19-Aug-2012 - Last updated on 12-Mar-2017 at 02:56 GMT

The hooded archer that has been a feature of the Strongbow brand since 1962

Heineken is backing its new Strongbow Pear variant with a national TV campaign that focuses on the brand’s traditional hooded archer.

The new ad, which launches on Friday and runs for 12 weeks, features a silhouette of an archer walking purposefully to his mark in an arid desert, before firing an arrow at a pear.

The end frame shows the arrows thudding next to the glistening bottle of Strongbow Pear, throwing up an arc of droplets. It is underscored by the strapline, New Strongbow Pear. Earn It.

The ad plays out to the John Murphy soundtrack, In the House in a Heartbeat, which featured in the film 28 Days Later.

Lawson Mounstevens, on-trade managing director at Heineken, said: “The advertisement will drive awareness of Strongbow Pear and its powerful refreshment benefits among our target audience of more than 4.7 million 18 to 34-year-old men, who will see the ad in this initial burst.”

Draught Strongbow Pear is already available in more than 1,000 outlets where sales are being driven by new fonts, PoS and bespoke glassware. Heineken said the product launch is part of a plan to give Strongbow a new and “more universal” brand positioning.