NATIONAL premium beer brand from the stable of Nigerian Breweries Plc, Gulder Lager recently broke fresh ground in advertising by unveiling a new television commercial tagged, The Ultimate Arrival.

While the average timeline for conventional television commercials ranges from 45 seconds to a minute, the new Ultimate Arrival TVC spanned over four minutes. Gulder’s new TVC was unveiled to a selected pool of journalists. Later that evening, it was screened on selected television stations for the first and only time.

A 360 degree teaser campaign — involving social media, radio and print adverts —preceded the formal unveil of the TVC; and it kept Nigerians guessing for several weeks as to what the The Ultimate Arrival entailed.

Mr Yusuf Ageni, Corporate Affairs Adviser, Nigerian Breweries Plc., represented by Mr Edem Vindah, Corporate Media and Brand PR Manager, lauded the novelty of The Ultimate Arrival TVC. He described the commercial as: “The-first-of-its-kind television commercial, a different kind of advertising which highlights a different way of doing beer advertising in Nigeria.”

Ageni said: “This is not rebranding, but a continuation of a brand story built on the values of Gulder as reflected in our current Out-Of-Home advertising. The new campaign has the theme – The Ultimate Arrival – which reinforces the brand’s proposition. The advertising is designed to reflect the brand positioning while pinpointing the credential attributes of the brand.”

The campaign script of the TVC was written by Insight Communications and produced by RedDot while the music sound track “Fever” was performed by Elvis Presley. Landmark shots such as the National Arts Theatre and the Sea Port, both in Lagos, were showcased; while the Lagos traffic also depicted that the Gulder Man is an inhabitant of the earth.

The Corporate Affairs Adviser also highlighted the aspiration of the Gulder brand. He noted: “Let me re-emphasise that the ambition of the Gulder brand is to remain the number one national premium beer, driving top line growth through innovation and playing a significant role in the life of its consumers. We constantly conduct research on the Gulder brand, consumer perception and the expectation of our current and potential consumers and we are delighted that we have done and are always doing the right things.”

Fielding the question on whether there was a deviation from the brand values of Gulder – adventure, confidence, valour and bravery – in the new TVC, Mr Emmanuel Agu, Marketing Manager - Gulder, Legend and Life, Nigerian Breweries Plc. asserted that the view was incorrect. He explained that The Ultimate Arrival TVC showcase of the Gulder Man’s lifestyle and relationship does not take away the brand essence and values of Gulder. Mr Agu added that Gulder is being repositioned as a national premium brand to meet the needs of male and female consumers that yearn and aspire for success and achievements.

Mr. Onyeka Okoli – the Senior Brand Manager - Gulder Nigerian Breweries Plc., also shed more light on the assertion that the commercial was both elitist and lengthy, given its 4-minute length.

He explained that The Ultimate Arrival would still be broken into minute-long commercials with different themes; but the full length would be aired only once. The Senior Brand Manager also added: “The Ultimate Arrival commercial showcases achievement and success, and our goal as brand handlers is to position Gulder as a national premium brand that can be enjoyed by all that aspire to attain great feats and record accomplishments.”