Heineken's tale of lockdown love is a punch in the gut
Brand's sweet story of a couple who found love during the quarantine will take you for a ride
Editor's Pick
Heineken is celebrating the return to real-world socializing as countries unlock from COVD-19 regulations, in a spot that tells the story of a couple who connect during quarantine.
It's the latest ad from the beer brand and Publicis Italy/Le Pub, who have been documenting different ways people have been drinking together throughout the pandemic. It centers on a couple, Charlie and Lola, who meet online during lockdown. They slowly get to know each other virtually, chatting while gaming, videochatting, showing off dance moves, working out, cooking together, flirting with silly filters and (of course) drinking Heineken together. They even have their first argument without ever having actually met in real life.
Eventually, restrictions ease, they say sorry and plan to meet for a first date.
The anticipation builds as we see the two heading nervously, excitedly, to their real-world destination. If you haven't watched the spot in full just yet, stop reading and do so now, because we don't want to ruin the twist of an ending.
The climax is not quite the upbeat fairytale conclusion we were expecting—it's a sting in the tail that delivers the message that real-life chemistry is better than a connection you might develop online. The finale is like a huge punch in the gut, but arguably, more memorable because of it.
The spot, directed by Show Yanagisawa and shot in Japan, is airing first in Vietnam, to target Asian markets that are just now beginning to socialize normally again. Heineken says it will roll out in other markets as restrictions ease; although, with some European countries including the Netherlands and Austria going back into partial lockdowns, it's anyone's guess when we can safely say that life is really going back to normal.
“Since the start of the pandemic, and the launch of our ‘Socialise Responsibly’ platform, Heineken has been creating campaigns that aim to inspire people to get out and support their local bars and nightlife venues once it is safe to do so," said Bram Westenbrink, global head Heineken brand, in a statement. "'A Lockdown Love Story' does exactly that, creating a time-capsule of how we maintained connections during the pandemic and providing an optimistic outlook to the new and surprising opportunities that await as bars and nightlife venues return to normal.”
Credits
- Date
- Nov 15, 2021
- Client :
- Heineken
- Agency :
- Publicis Italy/Le Pub
- Sr. Director Global Heineken® Brand :
- Bram Westenbrink
- Heineken® Communication Director :
- Daniela Iebba
- Heineken® Global Communications Manager :
- Guilherme De Marchi Retz
- Heineken® Digital Director :
- Rob van Griensven
- Heineken® Global Digital Production Manager :
- Bram Reukers
- Global Chief Creative Officer Publicis WW :
- Bruno Bertelli
- Chief Creative Officer :
- Cristiana Boccassini
- Chief Creative Officer :
- Mihnea Gheorghiu
- Global Executive Creative Director :
- Milos Obradovic
- Creative Director :
- Alessandro Candito
- Senior Copywriter :
- Christopher Penman
- Art Director :
- Daniele Tesi
- Copywriter :
- Nicolò Santovincenzo
- Global Strategy Director :
- Daniel Vargas Gomez
- Global Strategy Director :
- James Moore
- Global Data Strategist :
- Ilko Petkov
- Head of TV :
- Francesca Zazzera
- Producer :
- Tania Dal Pra
- Le Pub Ams GM/ Global Client Service Director :
- Eleni Charakleia
- Group Account Director :
- Ilaria Castiglioni
- Account Manager :
- Marta Wereszczynska
- Account Executive :
- Tinatin Prangishvili
- Production Company :
- Division
- Director :
- Show Yanagisawa
- Executive Producer :
- Jules De Chateleux
- Producer :
- Aurelie Bruneau
- Production Company :
- TYO Inc
- Producer :
- Hiroki Yaginuma
- Producer :
- Takumi Fujiwara
- Producer :
- Maki Osada
- Production Manager :
- Ryosuke Murooka
- DOP :
- Gen Ito
- Production Designer :
- Yukiko Kuribayashi
- Wardrobe Stylist :
- Yasuhiro Takehisa
- Make-Up :
- Nao Yoshida
- Hair :
- Tomoko Sato
- Casting :
- Junko Kaieda
- Casting :
- Yusuke Morikawa
- Post Production Company :
- Prodigious
- Head of Post :
- Giulia Lamacchia
- Post Producer :
- Alina Chaplygina
- Offline Editor :
- Takashi Tanaka
- Off line Editor :
- Fabrizio Squeo
- On line Editor :
- Samuele Schiavo
- On line Editor :
- Franco Tonnarelli
- On line Editor :
- Matteo Serafini
- On line Editor :
- Alessandro Congiu
- Compositing :
- Alessandro Congiu
- Compositing :
- Adolfo Navire
- Motion Graphic Designer :
- Matteo Marzano
- Video Game :
- Simon Kounovsky
- UI Design :
- Kentaro Ohira
- UI Design :
- Gaku Ito
- Graphic Artist :
- Keisuke Osaka
- Color Grading :
- Cutters Studios
- Color :
- Toshiki Kamei
- Color Assist :
- Haruka Ariga
- Sound Studio :
- Screenplay Srl
- Executive Producer :
- Gianfranco Clerici
- Producer :
- Eleonora Lorenzo
- Music Production :
- Sizzer
- Music Supervisor :
- Michael Bertoldini
- Music Producer :
- Seppl Kretz
- Original Song :
- Be My Baby
- Original Song :
- Ellie Greenwich
- Original Song :
- Jeff Barry
- Original Song :
- Phil Spector
Need a credit fix? Contact the Creativity Editors
Related work

Heineken: Ant Man does Dry January in Heineken spot starring Paul Rudd

Heineken: Office cleaners tell you it's time to stop working in Heineken's new campaign

Heineken: Pub customers aren't bitter in Heineken's ad promoting its new Irish stout
