Skol: The Rebrand.

As mentioned in the previous entry, the biggest surprise I've had in Brazil so far is the prominence of Skol lager. Well, that and the fact that the g-string bikini is deemed appropriate for all 3 generations.

Turns out Skol has undergone something of a Brazilian Rebrand from what I remember.

When I were a lad, Skol was the joke of all beers. I remember Skol being the beer you drank after finishing the Tennants, singing The Skol Song as you did so to detract from the taste. And that's aged 17, when cooking brandy, Mad 20/20 and aftershave are your drinks menu.  

You remember the Skol song? Didn't think so, but youtube and I did. It went like this:

Even the makers of Skol thought their lager was worse than Tennants. The ad looks like old men holding urine samples. The strapline? Horribly good lager. The Pot Noodle of beer. 

Now, the Brazilians know a thing or two about life. Faced with a prospect even an Advertising Supremo like Don Draper would have struggled with, namely trying to translate a product fronted by Hagar the Horrible and his animated chanting friends into a product desirable to a beach and sun loving country who hardly drink.

I can only assume the meeting went something like this. In Portuguese:

- Guys, how are we going to sell this awful beer?

Awkward silence. A moment of inspiration, as a junior ad man with hidden talent raises a nervous hand to unveil the idea that had been worming around his head since Junior High.

- Has anyone thought of using... you know, instead of the animated Viking God... um... we could use... er... big tits?

Emboldened, another young upstart chips in, tentatively:

- ... and buttocks? Again, just if you're not going with the whole animated Viking God... thing...?
- Hmm, says Draper, pondering the idea. Big tits and buttocks? Should we keep the song? The chant? Hmm. OK, it's worth a shot. Creative, get to work. 

And only hours later, they'd come up with these:

 

And who would have thought? Sales improved.

A lot.