Sterling Beer is a premium Pilsner beer in the American standard style. It has a rich history in the south as the beer of every man. Your granddad likely drank it. While it was lost to the ages, it was revived by new owners looking to bring a legend back to life.
THE CHALLENGE
Sterling’s new owners had grown up with the now dormant Pilsner and had dreams of restoring it to its former glory. Leveraging nostalgia and its previous popularity with a new and dramatically improved recipe was going to be a challenge.
THE APPROACH
After going through our proven brand development process and a lot of “product testing,” the “Back. Better. Beer.” campaign was born. Every part of the packaging system had to fit into a long line of classic Sterling design. The new can and box honor the past and embrace the great tradition of this legendary beer.
To further pay homage to Sterling’s heritage, we created a social media campaign centered around capturing the warmly lit, wood-paneled classic American living room. The campaign introduced a new generation to the beer their grandpa drank, with the tag line “find your Sterling.”
We also had the honor to redesign the historic Sterling Winner Circle can and six-pack. On the new rendition of this throwback, the greatest horse of all time, Secretariat, found himself in the winner’s circle once again.
THE RESULTS
The brand captured what it was like to drink Sterling back in the day, while also making it more approachable and likable for younger beer lovers.
