Excuses Bar

Creative idea

After research revealed that 58% of Spanish fans admitted to making up excuses to head to the bar and watch the game, Heineken launched Excuses Bars to let football fans enjoy the UEFA Champions League without having to lie. The brand renamed 36 bars across Barcelona, Madrid, and Valencia after the most common excuses fans use (like “Sorry, I have to go to the ER for a sprain”). This created a believable touchpoint between brand and fans, tackling a real social friction with authenticity and humor.

Brand name: Heineken
Advertiser / client: Heineken
Product / service: Heineken
Campaign name: Excuses Bar
Agency network: LePub Worldwide
Agency: LePub, Milan
Agency chief executive officer: Bruno Bertelli
Chief creative officer: Cristiana Boccassini, Mihnea Gheorghiu
Executive creative director: Gaston Soto
Creative director: Marie Poumeyrol, Fernando Dominguez
Art director: Luca Nante, Nicolo Pavin
Copywriter: Francesca Marchesi, Mattia Pavin, Mateusz Gaca, Miriam Marin
Designer: Fabio Iacomino
Account director (agency): Luigi Palma, Gonzalo Gutierrez Gauna, Federica Bussu
Client account director: Shirine Aoun, Ilaria Castiglioni
Strategic planner / strategist: Sol Ghafoor, James Moore
Senior planner: Aneta Junkova, David Casares
Pr director: Isabella Cecconi, Eleonora Botta
Agency producer: Francesca Zazzera, Margherita Fonseca
Additional company: Social Lead: Tatiana Katsai Editor: Claudio Roveda, Andrea Otto