With pubs and restaurants set to reopen in the U.K. on July 4 after three months of lockdown, Carlsberg is taking the opportunity to celebrate the moment Brits can start meeting friends for a beer again.

The brand is launching an integrated campaign from its agency Fold7, including a TV spot set to the well-known music from "The Great Escape," in which a group of friends finally escape from the mindless boredom of being at home and go out for a drink. There are few humorous nods to social distancing (they jump out of the path of a jogger, looking terrified) and the spot has a feelgood, celebratory mood that we haven't seen for a while in U.K. TV advertising. 

The campaign also includes print and outdoor ads, including one that bids farewell to Zoom, Houseparty and Kahoot, and says "we'll take it from here." Media by Initiative includes an intense two day push targeting every TV viewer at 9.30pm on Friday, the night before the Saturday reopening, plus social media ads targeting Twitter users of drinking age and national press ads with the slogan: "Tastes even better when we're together? Probably."

“Enjoying a draught pint of beer with friends in a pub is part of British culture for many people," said Emma Sherwood-Smith, director of marketing at Carlsberg U.K. "Sensing the mood of the nation we wanted to capture the growing anticipation, put Carlsberg Danish Pilsner at the heart of the moment and most importantly, champion the safe reopening of local pubs.”

The campaign comes as U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson warned people not to "overdo it" on reopening night and to act responsibly, or risk seeing local lockdowns, as has already happened in the city of Leicester.