Beer in movies

Beer has been in famous and less famous movies for years. Some movies are all about beer and some cameos have a more commercial intention. More about it in this article.

When someone drinks a beer in a movie or in a television show, it doesn’t always come from ascript writer. An agressive campaign from a brewery could be the source. And when a deal canbe made with a producer then it is a good deal. An audience of millions that could be teased and leaving the theatre with your brand in mind. But will it stick? It remains a gamble of course, but in a lot of cases a commercial is one too. It can not always be proved that a consumer is going to buy the product simply because it is shown to him or her.

Recently an episode of the American show E.R. was on television again.

What may I bring you?
Spring water would be fine.

And you, ma’am?
What kind of beers do you have?

Heineken, Grolsch or Amstel Light.
Just make that another spring water.

Watching this scene you can tell the named brands weren’t involved in creating it.

Of course, for decades product placement is an essential supporting act in movies and the studios extend their not too small budget wit hit. Naturally, the risk of adding beer to a scene could look forced. But they will try it anyway. Although we associate James Bond with wodka-martini, he’s on beer for a while now. Heineken beer, to be precise. But, when Tomorrow NeverDies premiered in 1997 the audience saw the secret agent only hitting a few barrels with his motorbike. When there is Heineken in a Bond movie then there was a huge deal being closed, scaling up to 50 million dollars. The brand is visible and the star is to be seen in a few commercials. The brewing company benefits from showing a known face with his beer: everybody knows James Bond.

In films komt natuurlijk al decennialang product placement voor en de filmstudio’s breiden hiermee hun al niet te klein budget mee uit. Het risico is natuurlijk dat de toevoeging van bier in een scéne geforceerd overkomt. En toch blijft men het proberen. Hoewel we James Bond doorgaans associëren met wodka-martini, is hij al een lange tijd aan het bier. Heineken bier om precies te zijn. Echter, toen Tomorrow Never Dies in 1997 in première ging zag het publiek de geheim agent enkel tegen een paar vaten van het merk rijden. Als in een James Bondfilm Heineken wordt gedronken, dan is daar een enorme deal aan voorafgegaan, te denken valt aan bedragen tussen de 50 en 60 miljoen euro per film. Het merk is te zien en de hoofdrolspeler is in een aantal commercials te zien. De brouwer is erbij gebaat een bekend gezicht bij zijn bier te laten zien: iedereen kent James Bond.

Only just in 2012 we saw 007 downing a Heineken, but the world was in a stir when it was announced. ,,Do not touch James Bond and he shouldn’t be doing such things,” was the overall response. It was a storm in a teacup. In the mentioned movie, Skyfall, the spy isn’t ordering in smoking a beer at the bar. No, he sips from a bottle at a moment when he has hadit. Fine then. Nobody complained after that.

There are movies with the plot all about drinking beer. Not a few special ones in beautiful glasses, like in In Bruges. It’s about student parties, games or alcoholic orgies. Strange Brew, Old School, Beerfest, Animal House and Drinking Buddies come to mind. The happiness marches towards you and you want to run to the fridge. It didn’t take an ad campaign from one particular brand to make you do that. ?

Which movies are you thinking of reading this article