billboard battle

Both adverts in this a billboard battle possess different templates. Stella Artois represents an example of using the replacement version of the pictorial analogy template. This type of ad creates a dramatic situation and then makes a substitution between the product and another item with symbolic significance in order to illustrate the worth of the product. In this case, the container (glass) is a major internal component that features the product beer; whereas chalice was chosen as a symbol that features in the consumer’s representation of the message: church.  By assessing the message: bring the ritual home, we understand that Stella Artois tries to replace a normal container with a ritual garment in the hope that a feeling of ‘sanctity or ‘noble’ could be created whenever people drink the beer.

Newcastle Brown Ale, owned by Heineken, illustrates an example of adopting the competition template, typically the attribute version. It questions the “chalice” concept, which is a product attribute of their component. I personally do not think the Newkie Brown is trying to do anything other than tease/sneer at the awful taste that its component has especially when Stella Artois clearly tried hard to bring up a novel yet soon-be-popular idea. The location that Newkie Brown chose (right beneath Stella Artois) adds another solid evidence of following Goldenberg’s competition template: isn’t using regular glass enough? Why Chalice?  This is about as straightforward a competition ad as you can get.

Goldenberg, J., Mazursky, D., & Solomon, S. (1999). The Fundamental Templates of Quality Ads. Marketing Science, 18, 333-351.