Diageo:
ZZ Top + Jeremiah Weed

A FULL-LENGTH DIGITAL MUSIC VIDEO CONSISTING OF A HIDDEN CAMERA STUNT, A TALENT PARTNERSHIP WITH ZZ TOP, AND A RICK RUBIN-PRODUCED SINGLE RELEASE.

Overview

American malt beverage brand Jeremiah Weed is sold mainly in convenience store refrigerators, where it was languishing alongside more popular beer competitors. This unknown brand needed to make some noise and prove that it was a legitimate competitor worthy of contending with the big boys in the beer refrigerator. Using the right celebrity would help this cause, but only if housed within an execution that reflected the brand’s irreverence and bluntness. To accomplish this, we hid a surprise in the refrigerator of a South Texas convenience store that customers would not soon forget – legendary rock and roll band ZZ Top. Hidden cameras rolled as real customers opened the cooler door to discover the band performing its first single in a decade, produced by Rick Rubin. In-store posters and standees featuring ZZ Top helped instantly connect a world-famous band to a previously little-known brand.

Outcomes

Footage from the content piece was also used heavily in creating ZZ Top’s first music video in a decade, which is big news coming from a band responsible for some of the most famous music videos ever created. The highly anticipated song release drew the attention of music publications and blogs globally. ZZ Top fans worldwide became Jeremiah Weed fans for making the debut possible and delivering it in an unexpected way. The campaign gave Jeremiah Weed an unprecedented spike in awareness and demand, which it struggled to meet due to unfortunate production issues. But with nearly 3 million hits combined between the content piece and the music video and the genuine endorsement of rock and roll gods ZZ Top and Rick Rubin, suddenly that little, unknown brand didn’t feel so little and unknown anymore.