The TV work is part of a £15m through-the-line promotion, including sampling and redesigned packaging for the brand. It is aimed at boosting Strongbow's position in the alcoholic drinks market from eighth place to fifth.
The new strapline for the Bulmers-owned brand is 'Get a thirst first'.
It replaces its ads starring frontman Johnny Vaughan, who characterised its'live to loaf' strapline used for the past four years.
Bulmers marketing director Jon Eggleton said that while the Vaughan campaign had been "incredibly successful", it was "time to move on while it is on a high, before it starts fading away". However, the cost of keeping Vaughan is also thought to have been a factor in the split. The latest ads do not feature celebrities.
The initial two executions, created by TBWA/London, break on Friday.
The first shows a man dressed in red running for his life to avoid being gored by a bull in Pamplona, before ducking into a bar and panting his order for a Strongbow.
The second features five men apparently marooned at sea in a rubber dinghy.
It turns out they are just yards from shore, deliberately sweltering to work up a thirst. A third will depict two mates having a cream cracker-eating contest, then refreshing themselves with Strongbow. The new packaging will be introduced in September with increased emphasis on gold and silver rather than black. Five radio ads will also air from September.
Eggleton said the focus of the ads was to encourage lager drinkers to drink more Strongbow. The brand is dominant in the cider market, capturing nearly 40% of all cider sales, but has also edged its way into the top ten long alcoholic drinks over the past decade. Sales have risen 35% by volume in the past three years - and by 90% in the off-trade.
"Our long-term goal is to change people's attitudes to it, to distance it from cider, said Eggleton.
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