Why Tiger Beer went Hollywood

When Asia Pacific Breweries (APB) unveiled its new TVC for Tiger Beer at a swanky riverside party last month, it hoped to make a splash. It also made more than that. The new, US$2.4 million TV commercial for Tiger Beer, featuring sexy starlet Jessica Alba and created by the Singapore office of BBDO, is being billed as the first TV commercial in Singapore to use a Hollywood celebrity (Media, November 4). Though Alba -- the Dark Angel TV star who graduated to front three big screen blockbusters this year -- is billed as the star, she is really just a foil for the four guys in the 'Friendship' spot. "Our brief was to amplify the joys of friendship, and the idea behind the spot was to show what friends will do for one another," says Farrokh Madon, creative director of BBDO. In this case, the friends in the spot use the sound of a Tiger beer amplified on a PA system to lure journalists away from the press conference with Alba so that one of the men can meet her. "From there, we just pushed the idea along, keeping Tiger integral -- not incidental -- to the story. Beer is always an integral part: the friends are in the right place because they are drinking a Tiger beer, they use the beer as a ruse to empty the hall, and at the end they celebrate with a beer." A number of names were bandied about for the role of the celebrity, including Uma Thurman and Angelina Jolie. In the end, says Madon, Alba was chosen partly because she was the most talked-about celebrity at that point, on the cover of numerous magazines, before starring in Fantastic Four, Into the Blue and Sin City. Evident from her days in Dark Angel, Alba also exudes an edgy quality. "Fortunately, she liked the script and decided to do it," says Madon. "She didn't ask for any changes. Some celebrities can be a nightmare, but she was very professional about the whole thing. She just said 'yes, I can do it within this window of time'." The use of Alba in the TVC may mark the beginning of a trend for Singapore advertising, says Francis Wee, executive creative director at BBDO. "For a big local brand like Tiger, it needs to behave like a market leader, and there's no better way to demonstrate that than having a big, super Hollywood star like Jessica Alba in its advertisement," says Wee. "If this proves to be the key ingredient for success, I'd think other local brands would want to eventually follow the footsteps of Tiger. Why should we limit ourselves to a local celebrity; why not a big Hollywood star?" Alan Gourdie, general manager for APB, says that the fact that the TVC would make history never crossed his mind. "The point for us is the standard of advertising that a brand of Tiger's stature needs to have to communicate powerfully to an increasingly sophisticated Singaporean consumer, while allowing APB to pursue its global aspirations for the brand," says Gourdie. "We compete against the world's biggest brands head-to- head in Singapore. None of the other international brands develop local advertising. Instead, they bring in the best advertising available from their group marketing divisions; and the best work developed by other operating companies in their business. Therefore, for Tiger to compete, we need a standard of creative, directing, production and acting talent right here in Singapore. A talent of Alba's stature and skill helps ensure the campaign's success." While the TVC was developed locally, casting was done in the US and Australia. Andy Lambert, the British director, flew to Los Angeles for casting most of the key talents. Mpegs of the various casting sessions were then emailed to the agency, and discussions between Lambert, the agency and clients (via conference calls) followed. This resulted in the selection of three key talents. "In the last few days, there was a flurry of activity to find the fifth key talent," says Madon. "We finally found him in Sydney and flew him up for the shoot. Like all groups of friends, we wanted to portray our group as an interesting bunch with different personalities. We didn't want a group of clones. Sometimes this can be a bit hard to get in 90 seconds, but it's good to have that depth in casting." The script was written and fine-tuned in a couple of months, and the shoot commenced in September. From conception to completion, the TVC took approximately five months. Aerial shots of the skyline were done in New York, and interiors were shot in Auckland over four days. Gourdie argues that, historically, campaign development like this has not been a strength in Singapore, as much local work has been tactical or adaptation-driven. As a result, he says the best creatives leave for greener fields fairly quickly. "We need more creatives and agency personnel with aspirations to create world-class, unique Asian advertising, to help put Singapore's brands on the world stage," Gourdie says. "Clients, on the other hand, must be prepared to pay for work of this standard, while building long-term partnerships with agencies and supporting their investments in talent at this level."