Interbrew relaunches Artois Bock after over half a century

LONDON – Interbrew UK is reintroducing its 113-year old Artois Bock Brand with a campaign to celebrate the new and the old for a brand that was first registered back in 1892.

The campaign, created by Draft London, will consist of press, online and PR and seeks to target sales staff and key industry people such as supermarket buyers and food journalists.

The beer has not been seen in the UK since the late 1950s and was originally favoured by academics at Belgium's Leuven University in the late 19th century, where it was given the nickname "Prof Artois".

A 6.2% ABV version will launch in August through some select outlets, retail and on trade, aimed at the premium market.

The group has recently invested £40m behind the Stella brand and is hoping to revive Artois Bock with a £2m ad push, with a press campaign launching in the autumn by Lowe. The online ad campaign will launch in early autumn, also created by Draft London.

Draft has created a pack that explains the history and philosophy of the brand and includes a bottle of beer presented in an unbranded bottle direct from the Belgium brewery.

The pack has been designed to complement the brand by using modern materials and production techniques but reviving historic art direction, copy and design features.

The 'Super Premium' category of beer has seen significant growth in the last five years and is expected to continue to increase, according to Interbrew.

Phil Rumbol, marketing director of Interbrew UK, said: "We discovered the beer recipe while cataloguing the brewing archives in Leuven and immediately felt it had great potential.

"The speciality beers sector has really taken off over the last two years, bringing new consumers into the beer category. Over the last year we have worked to demystify the sector, opening it up to more people and giving them the confidence to try new styles and beer flavours."

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