Heineken – Emotional Storytelling

“In advertising, not to be different is virtual suicide”
– Thornton Wilder

Advertisement is one field that can make or break the success of a product. Apart from the quality of the product itself, it is the one crucial factor in swaying people’s minds towards a product. Great storytelling can last decades and convert leads to customers.

Let’s explore Heineken’s emotional storytelling approach that struck a chord with audiences worldwide.

To promote their beer, Heineken moved away from the traditional “single-story or individual-focus” and hinged their campaign around personal differences. The campaign was simple – two people with opposing views meet each other and discuss matters over a beer. 

The reason it worked?

The video clocked 20 million views on Facebook alone and had over 20,000 shares. The reason this campaign was a masterclass in advertising was simple:

• Emotional appeal 

People love emotional stories. If you can tug the heartstrings of your audience with genuine, wholesome content. The ad tackled emotional issues such as LGBT rights, political leaning and climate change through sensitive writing strategies.

• Great conversation 

Great conversation makes for great content. Each of the conversatio

ns begins with them not knowing anything about each other as they slowly unravel the twist in the end. 

• Product placement 

Heineken didn’t place beer as the hero, it placed conversation. That, in effect, is great advertising, because they sold an experience with their product. 

The result proves that as humans, we have a lot more in common than our personal views may suggest. Check out their other content and you’ll see why they’re successful.