Heineken 0.0 is going on draught at the bars of two of ITV's famous fictional pubs – Coronation Street's Rover's Return and Emmerdale's Woolpack – in a bid to normalise alcohol-free beer.
From this Friday (29 April), Heineken 0.0 will take centre stage at both TV pubs, earning a place alongside boozier peers Newton & Ridley and Ephraim Monk, both of which have fuelled many a drunken fracas among the soaps' characters.
Landladies Jenny Connor and Charity Dingle will be pulling pints of Heineken 0.0 for the next year thanks to a deal between ITV and the brewer.
ITV's flagship soap Coronation Street and its Emmerdale sibling have a combined audience of around 11 million viewers. ITV and Heineken hope the deal will persuade people of the merits of alcohol-free beer and counter the stigma associated with the category, making it visible and acceptable to Brits.
Heineken 0.0 Draught went on sale in some UK pubs last year, ahead of plans to roll out the barrels to hundreds of pubs and bars in 2022. Heineken has pledged to have as many 0.0 Draught taps as there are Original taps in UK bars by 2025.
James Crampton, Heineken UK's corporate affairs director, said: "Coronation Street and Emmerdale are British institutions and both shows have huge influence and cultural currency. From 29 April, people are going to tune in to Coronation Street and Emmerdale and see 0.0 taps on screen.
"They're going to see landlords they love pull pints of alcohol-free beer, and see their favourite soap characters drink it. We're very confident that this partnership is going to have a massive impact in terms of helping to normalise alcohol free beer."
According to health TV personality Dr Zoe Williams, the partnership between ITV and Heineken "has the opportunity to make huge changes in public perception of alcohol free beer".
She added: "The great British pub plays a key role in many of our lives, including the residents of Coronation Street and Emmerdale, so being able to head down to the local and have a pint of alcohol-free beer with friends and family means more people can be included and enjoy time together whilst drinking mindfully."
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