Current Issues in Marketing Strategy

Advertising has been on a slippery slope for some time, each year we push the boundaries of acceptability a little further. Sure we get complaints and many ads get pulled, but those that stay up set the new benchmark for what's acceptable. Heineken have pushed those boundaries way too far in their latest 'suicide' TV commercials. Any 1st year marketing student will tell you that this could have a negative effect on brand equity, the question is; What is the real outcome on their bottom line?


Explaining The AdvertisementAdvertising is an attention game, shock & comedy are two common weapons in any advertisers arsenal, but they can go to far. Clearly the Ad is meant to be a joke, so please don't write to me saying it's based on truth. The Ad is based on truth the same way that fishing deserves to be an Olympic sport. It does however get your attention, which is of course the intention. The message they're trying to send is "Life is worth living for Heineken", which it actually portrays very very well. The follow up ad is not as effective, but it is still a valiant attempt at differentiating Heineken from other premium beers.

Part 1Heineken

Part 2Grolsh

The Strategy behind it
Don't think for a second that the people behind the ad didn't know it would create social unrest, in fact far from it. I would have guessed that is exactly what they were going for, getting as much free media coverage as possible. It does raise the question though, would it scare any loyal customers away from the brand?

Josh Strawczynski's Opinion
You will always run the risk of scaring people away from your product when you do something controversial. For instance if someone dear to you has committed suicide or you work for an anti suicide organization, you could very well be disgusted by the flippant view portrayed by the ad, that choosing death or beer is almost to close call.

The other side of the equation is the enormous amount of free media & brand awareness therein that the 'stunt' produced. Heineken are in the enviable position that they have built up an 'equity bank' that is difficult to undermine in one short run ad. Regardless of their advertising, the have huge brand awareness and those consumers know what the brand stands for. In this instance, more good is likely to come than bad...this time anyway.

Sam Berringer's Opinion
I don't think they did themselves any favors, although Josh is probably right about the 'equity bank', I doubt new customers will be falling over themselves to try Heineken. Even the most liberal of minds may find it hard to see the comedic link between Heineken and suicide. The problem with the ad was not that they pushed the acceptability boundary, but they played on a major problem in society. The same would happen with gambling, smoking or drugs...just don't do it. So in summery, the company will survive, but they won't be adding to their bottom line.