22
Voodoo Ranger is one of the strongest beers in the U.S.. But… they’re not allowed to say that. For years, regulations have kept them from directly advertising their high alcohol percentage. So we found a way to say “strong beer” without saying it. Introducing, The World’s Strongest Can of IPA. We custom fabricated a 14.5 lb, half-inch thick beer can. Then, sent the can out to content creators to test its strength. The can survived a 4300°F flamethrower, a 45 ton hydraulic press, liquid nitrogen and… well, you should watch the case study. We even got it endorsed by the World’s Strongest Man!
Our brief was to communicate Voodoo Ranger’s product benefit - its high alcohol content - without saying it outright and violating regulations. We needed to do that on a limited budget, with no paid media (other than some previously purchased billboard space). That meant developing a concept that could live in nontraditional media channels, and attract interest organically.
#1 - 12.4% increase in sales
Our campaign communicated a benefit more clearly than Voodoo ever had. By the end of the year, Voodoo Ranger sales increased 12.4%, a net gain of $18.9 million USD in dollar sales. This was in spite of overall craft beer sales declining 4.4%.
#2 - 4 million views
#3 - Average view time over 5 minutes
Just as important as these sales figures was the reception our creator content received. Across channels, we received over 4 million views, 243,000 likes, and 4,000 comments – all organic. On our longest influencer video, there was an average view time over 5 minutes!
Voodoo Ranger’s target audience is 21-29 year old men in the United States.
In terms of media, these guys are consuming the vast majority of their content online, especially YouTube. And on YouTube, there’s a whole subculture of men takin” andg things to ridiculous extremes, building things like the “World’s Largest T-Shirt Cannon “Giant Axe vs. Tesla Car.”
We designed “The World’s Strongest Can of IPA” to meet these men in this moment. It’s a ridiculous object, designed to withstand ridiculous YouTube challenges. It was the embodiment of self-aware, hyperbolized masculinity.
We used AI in the very initial design stages - asking Midjourney what an extremely strong can of beer might look like. We took some of these images for inspiration/moodboards, but that’s it.
