National Homebrew Club Ireland

Anyone see the new Smithwicks ad?

I think it's absolutely brilliant from a marketing point of view.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TCC9L6scBrE

They fairly nailed it alright.  From the dishwasher to the hoodie clad fermenter.   ;D ;D   

Great advert..

I like it.

I thought the fermenter in the bath was a bit much...but yeah not a bad advert overall.

Cooling in rivers and boiling over open fires even tongue in cheek it perpetuates an image the general public have about us

If they wanted to salute us what about all the positives like club meets competitions brotherhood etc.....ho hum

I'd love to do a video reply with accountants in suits in the brewhouse, greasy sales guys doing dodgy deals with publicans and beer coming through manky lines. "For the love of it"

How much is in the club bank account?  :D

Now that's a video I want to make >:D

Sure don't we all have cameras on our phones

Do we have to use our porn names to protect our anonymity?

A promo (check spelling) vid could be a nice way to promote the club. Show people the techniques from basics to advanced and then the social club meet ups side as well. Much the same length as Mr Wick's add but showing what we want people to see.

It's patronising as fcuk....trying to make out that only eegits try to make beer at home...as for the marketing side if it, they are trying to align themselves with a market that they reckoned "ignore it and it will go away"... it didn't and now they are doing their damnedest to stamp it out by whatever means they can..."allegedly" reps tampering with craft kegs , disconnecting gas, I could go on but you get my point....

Is it really that patronising? I'm pretty sure I've had every single snafu in that video, mind you I've none of the fancy gear they have.

Well if you look at it in its totality it shows Homebrewers as chaotic and while every Homebrewer has a fook up story,or two, most have a normal brew day and brew their beer without incident.

+1, Mr. Dempsey

Roll on the smithwicks homebrew competition

A parody ad promoting Home Brewing would be great alright

Quote from: nigel_c on October 03, 2016, 04:12:33 PM
How much is in the club bank account?  :D

Funds are tight. We could maybe spring for a Blair Witch Project style ad filmed in Dempsey's backyard though.  :P

-Sent from NHC Clubhouse in Barbados-

Quote from: CH on October 03, 2016, 03:52:31 PM
Cooling in rivers and boiling over open fires even tongue in cheek it perpetuates an image the general public have about us

If they wanted to salute us what about all the positives like club meets competitions brotherhood etc.....ho hum

I'd love to do a video reply with accountants in suits in the brewhouse, greasy sales guys doing dodgy deals with publicans and beer coming through manky lines. "For the love of it"

Just saw a photo in homebrew Ireland fb group of a lad chilling his cube full wort in a river. I don't really see a problem with the ad. It's all a bit tongue in cheek and a bit of fun.

I think we all take ourselves a bit too seriously as homebrewers sometimes. Myself included.

All I took away from the ad is that even with all those hokey setups and issues the homebrewed beer would still taste better than Smithwicks ;)

This caught me by surprise on TV the other day. Don't think it paints us in a bad light really, not exactly that bud ad calling craft drinkers beer sniffing twats is it? Still wont be drinking Smithwicks though  8)

And if anyone had a good idea for a video I could get my brother to shoot it, he does commercial videos for businesses, etc He'd probably do it for a few beers and a bit of craic for us.

I caught out on the box last night.
I think it's alright and can relate to all the snips. Close to reality apart from the tag line.

Just saw the ad on TV3. To a neutral observer I think it paints these "Homebrew Nerds" as a right shower of "eejits" wasting their time (and money!) trying to make beer. Just out of curiousity, does anybody know if any of the "actors" are members of the NHC or actually homebrewwers?

I really don't see where people are seeing such negative views on this. The whole tag line states if someone likes the pint it's all worth it.

Sure it highlights some problems Brewers can come across which might make us look silly.  Yet we're all here trying to help lads out when they can't stop leaks in their new systems etc.

I would suggest a sensible/constructive letter to Smithwicks from El Presidente commenting on the overall quality of the add and suggesting a follow up:

Improved homebrewing techniques (No cockups), New shinny equipment available to us,  Wide range of Styles are now being HomeBrewed so that is why SmitWix are expanding their range.

Finally a plug for the NHC.ie would be appreciated.

However, Given the Guinness new products coming out of the "Brewers Project Incentive/Directive" we should approach the Guinness arm of the Gate to take thi sto the next step

Quote from: Qs on October 04, 2016, 01:53:59 PM
Don't think it paints us in a bad light really, not exactly that bud ad calling craft drinkers beer sniffing twats is it? Still wont be drinking Smithwicks though  8)

And if anyone had a good idea for a video I could get my brother to shoot it, he does commercial videos for businesses, etc He'd probably do it for a few beers and a bit of craic for us.

I'd tend to agree Qs.

As for Will_D's point, what about asking to have a link to the forum through these campaigns?

As a homebrewer I can relate to a lot of the stuff in the ad, leaking hoses, jackets around fermenters or just scrambling to find a solution to an unexpected probem on the fly. We've all made silly mistakes and tried weird and varied methods along the way while we learned.
And as homebrewers we can appreciate that process and the satisfaction of getting it right and producing a beautiful pint of beer at the end.

On the other hand. To the average consumer who knows little or nothing about brewing, I think this ad suggests that the homebrewers are crackpots who try to emulate the ''professionals'' at smithwicks. And a lot of those average consumers would tend to associate craft beer with homebrewers or at least as not run by an established brewer who has been doing it for 100 years. I say it's a deliberate attempt to subconsciously suggest that home/small/craft brewers are just chancers who dont really know what they're doing and might poison you.......   

I'm keeping my tin foil hat on for this one.

How much for an NHC ad?
Have we got one?
Even to have one online.

I think Drum has hit the nail on the head there.

I'm sure we've all experienced the same scenario...the one where you tell someone you home brew and they automatically think it's made in a bath tub and is guaranteed to "blow the head off ye".

In my opinion, I think the term home brew will always have that connotation, that you're just a mad lad in a shed with no clue what he's doing and making 80% proof hooch.

But if you phrase it different and tell someone you make craft beer it's another conversation, they talk about a beer they've recently tried a new brewery they've heard of etc.

In my opinion the advert plays on the assumption of what a home brewer is, rather than what a modern home brewer has actually become. Not once did it show someone measuring mash PH, carbon filtering their water, temperature controlling fermentation, growing and cultivating their own hops. These are the things that make a Craft Brewer, and differentiate us from the stereotypical assumptions of a home brewer!

Quote
Craft
noun
An activity involving skill in making things by hand.
"the craft of brewing"

It is a little bit patronising. I wonder have the "morketing" people latched onto some piece of consumer research that the wider public equate "craft brew" with "home brew"? Are the images of the bumbling home brewer meant to imply that this is how commercial craft beer is made..? :D

I think Smithwick's intention is not to equate us as bumbling amateurs but more, to align themselves with small, craft production and try to distance themselves from big, industrial brewers. Hence why the ad has their brewers pulling samples from small Open Gate fermenters rather than the 1000HL fermenters they have at St.James Gate.

I'd be interested to hear what non-homebrewers make of the ad but I'd imagine most of them won't really think much of it either way.

I like the idea of our own ad though. We have BrewCon footage and could get some footage from a competition and maybe put something together from that.

Personally I find the ad mildly amusing if a little toe-curling at the very end, but I don't find it offensive.

The slogan, however, is nonsense. They're a large business who exist for profit, as opposed proud hobbyists like most of us lot.

Still not as annoying as HH13 with its 'more hops' (more hops than what?), or 'triple hopped' (that could mean anything!) bullshit.

Quote from: irish_goat on October 05, 2016, 11:09:15 AM
I like the idea of our own ad though. We have BrewCon footage and could get some footage from a competition and maybe put something together from that.

The Belfast brewers performed a brewing demo, of both ag and kit, to a modest gathering about 2 years ago. My bro took almost an hour's footage with his professional video gear, and I've been meaning ever since then to sit with him and get it edited down to a couple of minutes. I remember a lot of improvised equipment being employed at the time, so there's probably a fair amount of usable material in that, if it's of any help?

-Barry

Let's not beat about the bush here. There's no better than myself at having a laugh at some of the inventive antics that Homebrewers get up to in tackling this hobby,however this is the marketing arm of a very clever company that is planting and image in the public conscious, why, because they want you to buy their products.

I'm sure a lot of clubs around the country have loads of pics and clips that could be compiled into a nice add.

Quote from: Acott on October 05, 2016, 09:00:27 AM
I'm sure we've all experienced the same scenario...the one where you tell someone you home brew and they automatically think it's made in a bath tub and is guaranteed to "blow the head off ye".

In my opinion, I think the term home brew will always have that connotation, that you're just a mad lad in a shed with no clue what he's doing and making 80% proof hooch.

But if you phrase it different and tell someone you make craft beer it's another conversation, they talk about a beer they've recently tried a new brewery they've heard of etc.

In my opinion the advert plays on the assumption of what a home brewer is, rather than what a modern home brewer has actually become. Not once did it show someone measuring mash PH, carbon filtering their water, temperature controlling fermentation, growing and cultivating their own hops. These are the things that make a Craft Brewer, and differentiate us from the stereotypical assumptions of a home brewer!

Quote
Craft
noun
An activity involving skill in making things by hand.
"the craft of brewing"

Spot on Aidan. I had the production lads behind the ad out at my house at the end of July. Their whole approach had a negative slant. They had minimal interest in seeing my set up, talking about beer or even anything remotely technical like making yeast starters. All they really wanted was the disaster story. Has anything ever exploded on you? Have you ever made someone sick? What do your mates make of this carry on? Are you a modern day Unabomber? That kind of thing.
The whole thing felt pretty flat to me and they clearly didn't have any interest in making an ad about people "crafting" beer, they just wanted a few You've Been Framed moments. Bah!

Re. our own add:

We are not alone!

Some people have posted that this is a (mon?) subtle(!) attack on Craft Beer!

"After all craft beer is brewed by HB nerds who have gone commercial"

So when I say "we are not alone":

    We have the resource of the NHC [loads of people, loads of skills, loads of time but only  a few hundred quid]

    We have the HB shops of Ireland [4 shops also a few hundred quid, no time]

    We have the Craft Brewers of Ireland [ no time but shed loads of breweries and so maybe a few thousand quid]

Can you imagine what say O'Haras and Rye River could contribute in terms of sponsoring a video add?

Would be great to get it on telly but with SocialMejia we could reach more peeps probably

[EndRamble]

https://youtu.be/uYMuJDajujc

Quote from: helmet on October 05, 2016, 05:33:00 PMSpot on Aidan. I had the production lads behind the ad out at my house at the end of July. Their whole approach had a negative slant. They had minimal interest in seeing my set up, talking about beer or even anything remotely technical like making yeast starters. All they really wanted was the disaster story. Has anything ever exploded on you? Have you ever made someone sick? What do your mates make of this carry on? Are you a modern day Unabomber? That kind of thing.
The whole thing felt pretty flat to me and they clearly didn't have any interest in making an ad about people "crafting" beer, they just wanted a few You've Been Framed moments. Bah!

That's disappointing. I'll bring this up with the Smithwick's people as that's not what they were telling me they were looking for at the start of this process.

Guys the NHC is an amateur organisation, in spite of the massive achievements we have made in terms of members competitions, conferences group buys meets etc etc etc if we expose ourselves to a commercial business of course they will have their own agenda and unless we are present at their meetings we have no idea as to what their real intention or marketing direction is.
I have never disguised my attitude on this forum to the Macros, I'm not pissed with them just feel that when they use us for their own intentions like this it erodes all the other really positive stuff we do.
I see this exposure for Irish homebrewing as positive as it puts us on the map, and its up to us now to show joe public that we are better than the stereotypical imagery portrayed.
Twice bitten now :(

That's disappointing. I'll bring this up with the Smithwick's people as that's not what they were telling me they were looking for at the start of this process.
[/quote]

Not to start an argument but in the interest of fairness, my experience with the guys was the opposite. They had a look at the set up, asked loads of questions, had a taste of the beer and had a good chat about the time and dedication involved. They mentioned some amazing set ups they had seen over the last few days. They were amazed at the money and time people put into things. Even mentioned that someone was making sausages or pudding from the spent grain. They said it tasted amazing.

Quote from: DEMPSEY on October 03, 2016, 08:44:56 PM
Well if you look at it in its totality it shows Homebrewers as chaotic and while every Homebrewer has a fook up story,or two, most have a normal brew day and brew their beer without incident.

The film crew kept trying to setup jokes..turns out that no matter what they tried to do, reality was better. They said 'OK, can we get a shot of you opening a beer?'. One of us had one of my brews, and the AD gave me a dark mysterious bottle. "Right, open that". It was a coke, with a mentos in the top. It didn't really react that much. I grabbed one of my tripels which was WAY overcarbonated, once I realised what they were looking for. It exploded all over the place. I think there was another bit, they were filming me running some water through the pots - I disconnected some silicone hoses in the wrong order, and got covered in water. Looked hilarious, because my reaction was 100% honest.

Let's face it, homebrewers stagger from catastrophe to consternation, repeatedly. As soon as we get it right, we move onto something harder.

And yes. I'd love to do a parody Ad for some mass-market beer, with lads marvelling at how bland it was, how it's great to have a beer that tastes the exact same, 10 pints a week for 50 years, giving out about people putting flowers in beer (then being told there is a wee bit of hops in their beer too), and then giving out about barrel aging beer - 'No! 3 hours on beechwood sawdust should be good enough for anyone!".

John

Quote from: bigvalen on October 07, 2016, 10:17:18 AM
I'd love to do a parody Ad for some mass-market beer, with lads marvelling at how bland it was, how it's great to have a beer that tastes the exact same, 10 pints a week for 50 years, giving out about people putting flowers in beer (then being told there is a wee bit of hops in their beer too), and then giving out about barrel aging beer - 'No! 3 hours on beechwood sawdust should be good enough for anyone!".

Sawdust?  Muck, nothing but the finest flavourless stainless for me!

Bigvalen - do you feature in the final ad?

Quote from: Slev on October 07, 2016, 02:43:29 PM
Bigvalen - do you feature in the final ad?

Yeah...I did a demo of medieval brewing for them :)

Cool. 
Bit of craic seeing yourself on the box,  I'd say.

Quote from: bigvalen on October 07, 2016, 10:17:18 AMand the AD gave me a dark mysterious bottle. "Right, open that". It was a coke, with a mentos in the top.

Ffs.. I think that's all we need to know about about their planned approach for this advert. Portray home brewers as bumbling idiots, lurching from one brew house disaster to another. "Fair play to the home brewers, they're eejits, but sure god love them.. they're having a go...". What are their morketing people thinking of???

I think Acott put it quite well.

But it is a big company doing an ad campaign.  Which will always be to their agenda.  If they hadn't gotten some real homebrewers,  they'd have gotten actors and Hamed it up (in which case we would all have been up in arms for sure. The fact that it is real brewers,  has us with a mixed reaction).

The biggest insult is that the beers made by the brewers they patronisingly portray in their advert, are probably of a higher standard than the bland dishwater that Smithwicks produces. I approached their red ale with an open mind a couple of years ago, while doing a bit of judging "practice" and was shocked at how bland and cheap it tasted. The worst of all the Irish Red ales I tasted, by a long shot.

They have another ad out at the moment that says, I'm paraphrasing here.. "It's the aging process that gives Smithwicks it's Ruby red colour"... Well no.. it doesn't! We all know marketing companies will literally say anything to help sell a product, but why would Smithwicks sign off and pay for an ad that contains such bullshit?

I enjoyed this from rye river.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wPeexbpPCg0

Google newsstand  threw up this to me this morning  (it's a news agitator , which is based on location and web searches)

http://www.nenaghguardian.ie/news/roundup/articles/2016/10/09/4127964-borrisokane-home-brewers-in-smithwicks-ad/