Truly Hard Seltzer's Dua Lipa campaign marks largest media spend to date

Dive Brief:

Truly Hard Seltzer teamed with Grammy-winning pop star Dua Lipa to launch its "No One Is Just One Flavor" campaign, per a press release. The effort includes a 30-second spot produced by Goodby, Silverstein & Partners that will debut during the season finale of Saturday Night Live on May 22.
The campaign will be supported by the Boston Beer Co. brand's largest media investment to date, and includes out-of-home (OOH), digital and social elements. It also will run "Instagram-able" activations in New York and Los Angeles, point-of-sale integrations where consumers can win prizes and a livestreamed concert series.
Designed to promote Truly's unique flavor lineup and the unique facets of its drinkers, the extensive effort could help Boston Beer build on the brand's growing sales in an increasingly crowded hard seltzer space that is poised for even more expansion as consumers return to pre-pandemic activities this summer.

Dive Insight:

Truly's "No One Is Just One Flavor" campaign plays in multiple channels, including those that became mainstays during the pandemic and ones that are likely to return to prominence as consumers embrace pre-pandemic activities on the promise of vaccinations and eased restrictions.

By teaming with platinum-selling musician Dua Lipa, the brand can reach a broad audience and deliver a message that celebrates both its wide range of flavors (totaling 27, the most of any hard seltzer on the market, per the brand) and multifaceted consumers. The core 30-second spot, set to Lipa's hit song "Physical" and directed by David LaChapelle, bills the singer as bilingual, a dog mom and a yoga enthusiast — in the same way that its drinkers aren't just one thing.

"Our drinkers are authentically true to themselves and proud to show off the many flavors that make them who they are," Truly Vice President Don Lane said in the press release. "No One is Just One Flavor is a rallying cry to encourage our fans to keep fearlessly exploring the many distinct sides of themselves, because it's these unique qualities that make life fun, interesting, and joyful."

Consumers can explore their different facets with outdoor activations in New York and Los Angeles that use hundreds of mirrors to generate different angles and reflections that can be shared on social media, extending the campaign's reach. Such experiential activations were a pre-pandemic staple for marketers and are starting to return as consumers spend less time at home.

Still, the campaign includes elements that became de rigueur during the pandemic, but will likely persist as certain consumer behaviors persist, like spending more time on digital and mobile channels. The campaign includes "Truly Inspired," which offers summer content and a livestream concert series produced by Live Nation featuring artists Dua Lipa selected. Livestreamed concerts were popularized by marketers, especially alcohol brands, as a way to reach fans while venues were closed during the height of the pandemic.

For parent Boston Beer, the star-backed campaign could help Truly build on growth the hard seltzer brand has seen, which has somewhat offset declining sales for its core Samuel Adams beer products. Truly outgrew the hard seltzer category by nearly two times, increasing market share to over 28% based on off-premise channels in the first quarter, per an earnings report.