INTERNATIONAL: Harp Lager aims to end years of feminisation with new ads

<p>Ogilvy & Mather has launched a £2.5 million campaign for the </p><p>Irish lager brand Harp, which urges men to save themselves from the </p><p>slippery slope of feminisation. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>The TV campaign, O&M's first for the brand since it won the business </p><p>last year, breaks in the Central region this month. It is fronted by a </p><p>barman, a self-appointed guardian of the manliness of the male </p><p>population. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>In the ads, he takes male customers to task for giving in to what he </p><p>deems unnatural behaviour. This includes drinking foreign bottled beers, </p><p>cappuccinos and flavoured waters, and wearing friendship bracelets and </p><p>sandals. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>In one spot, the barman ridicules a man for ordering a foreign bottled </p><p>beer and then suggests that he'll be swapping his copy of Autotrader for </p><p>OK! next. In another, the barman appears behind a perfume counter and </p><p>hands the young man trying to buy aftershave a pint of Harp instead. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>All the ads use the endline: "Drink Harp, stay sharp." </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Mr Paul Simons, the chairman of Ogilvy Group, said: "The campaign </p><p>rationale touched a nerve among the whole team. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>"Over the past few years we've endured the feminisation of man, the mass </p><p>introduction of foreign bottled lager, alcopops and the </p><p>cappuccinostate." </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Mr John Steel, the marketing director for Wolverhampton & Dudley </p><p>Breweries, said: "The 'stay sharp' campaign for Harp in the 1970s helped </p><p>men become shrewd and resourceful. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>"Once again, Harp is there, the leading light in a social revolution, </p><p>and is the only lager sharp enough to take a stand for mankind." </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>The TV campaign was written by Vicki Maguire and art directed by Maguire </p><p>and Mark Chalmers. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>The ads were directed by Mr Dominic Murphy through Blake </p><p>Productions. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>The campaign also includes 48-sheet and flysheet posters, written by </p><p>Maguire and art directed by Chalmers and Chris Priest. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Media planning and buying is by Manning Gottlieb Media. </p><p><BR><BR> </p>