Agency:

Williams Helde inc

Client:

Cheap Fun (10 Barrel Brewing)

Tell Us the Story of This Work:

The Constraint

Pub Light is a 99 calorie, 4% ABV light lager built on value and flavor. With limited budget, especially compared to the heavyweight national beer brands, we built a creative PR launch to turn heads and get people to tip back a Pub Light. 

The Insight

The brewers set out to make the best tasting light lager on the market. After tasting it, we knew they hit the nail on the head. Now, we had to prove it to the world and what better way than a blind taste test. The creative insight our team had leveraged Pub Light’s logo - a strip of blue painter’s tape covering the word “Beer” in “Pub Beer,” Pub Light’s big, heavier brother. The logo was visual shorthand for the brand’s philosophy: strip away hype, branding, and bias. If the beer could win without a name attached, it wouldn’t need money to earn credibility.

The Idea

By wrapping Pub Light and the #1 national light beer brand in the PNW (Coor’s Light) in blue painter’s tape, we had two identical wrapped cans without any branding. Rather than buying attention, we created a moment worth participating in: a real blind taste test; No labels. No prompts. Just honest opinions.

The Execution

With minimal resources, we built tasting kits to send to media and tastemakers featuring:

• Two cans wrapped entirely in blue painter’s tape
• Labeled simply Beer X and Beer Y
• A short survey to capture unfiltered feedback

The painter’s tape wasn’t just packaging—it was the brand identity turned into a campaign system.

The Results (Proof the Idea Worked)

With the results in, we had over 60% of testers choose Pub Light over the competition. 

• 62% preferred Beer X (Pub Light)
• Pub Light earned the strongest flavor scores, including the majority of all 4? and 5?star ratings
• Tasters consistently cited better balance, richer malt character, and higher drinkability

Feedback included:

• “Richer malt quality with a light hop flavor.”
• “More full?bodied but still light.”
• “Highly sippable—the flavor got better after each sip.”

Earned Attention 

The confidence and simplicity of the idea sparked immediate organic buy?in from national and regional media. 

• “Love this idea.” – Field Mag
• “I didn’t know there was a test! Oh boy…” – DrinkHacker
• “Alright—you got me! A blind taste test sounds very fun.” – The Kitchn / Simply Recipes

Earned Media Impact

Without buying a single placement, the campaign generated national exposure across food, beer, lifestyle, and social channels, including:

• Maxim – Best New Spring Microbrews for 2026
• Sip Magazine – Feature introduction of Pub Light 
• American Craft Beer – National mention 
• The Brew Site – Blind taste test feature 
• Saturday Sips – Newsletter + web coverage 

All coverage was earned, driven entirely by participation and curiosity—not spend.

The Impact

With painter’s tape, a bold matchup, and belief in the liquid, Pub Light turned a lack of resources into its greatest strength. The campaign didn’t buy its way into culture, it invited people to judge for themselves, earning credibility, conversation, and national attention far beyond its budget.

Takeaway:
When the idea is strong enough, the budget becomes irrelevant. Pub Light proved that big impact doesn’t come from buying attention—it comes from trusting the beer and stripping everything else away.

CEO:

Marc Williams

Managing Director, Active Lifestyle:

Martin Maisonpierre

Account Manager:

Zach Zenteno

Sr. Director, Brands West:

Brian Hughes

Sr. Brand Manager:

Moo Eakins