George the Bear is making a comeback in a new Hofmeister ad campaign, but he’s matured, and not the 80s pork pie hat-wearing geezer he used to be.
In keeping with the new premium, authentically Bavarian, slow-brewed Hofmeister, the new-look George is a grown-up, classier, sophisticated version of his former self, that helped to make him a household name when he urged: “For great lager, follow the bear.”
The new version of Hofmeister is a far cry from the mass-produced brand that was actually brewed in the heart of England. It was brought back to life in 2016 by entrepreneurs Richard Longhurst and Spencer Chambers, who bought the rights to the brand from Heineken and re-created it as an authentic Bavarian-brewed Helles lager, made to the German beer purity law that dates back to 1516.
It is now attracting premium drinkers across the UK into the £3.7bn world beer category, who either remember it from its past, or who are discovering Hofmeister for the first time. It was named best lager in the world in 2017 in the IWSC drinks competition.
The new George has been created by advertising agency Bartle Bogle Hegarty (BBH). Nick Gill, who worked on the original George the Bear campaign, has been part of the team responsible for creating a new mature George.
He said: “I was around at the birth of George at Hofmeister, at a time when beer advertising was hugely popular, in the days before social media when everyone was talking about it in the office.
“We live in a very different world now and much of the humour and irreverence about beer advertising that we all loved has sadly gone. The time has come for a great beer campaign, and we’re very excited about it.”
“When we got a call a few months ago to ask if were interested in working on the Hofmeister campaign, it was like a voice from the past and it took about three seconds to say ‘yes’.
“We had no hesitation in bringing back George. He is a loved icon and a fantastic springboard for the new campaign. He’s also ready for a makeover, because the beer is now much classier and more sophisticated.”
Hofmeister co-founder, Spencer Chambers, said: “It’s a big moment for Hofmeister to be able to bring back a grown-up George the Bear. He’s always been the elephant in the room for us, and at some point we were always going to have to take that on.
“The challenge was how we brought him back. Now he’s back we hope he can help us take Hofmeister from being a new, challenger brand, to being the UK’s most loved premium world beer.
“But it is also an important time for the premium beer market as a whole that it once again has a much-loved brand with the sort of personality that made the beer category such an exciting and vibrant place to be in the late 1980s. We want to bring that sense of fun and innovation back and who better than a grown up, classier George the Bear himself.”
Piccadilly Circus, London, advertising runs from today until Easter Sunday and will see George the Bear take over the complete hoarding for 40 seconds every hour. It is hoped he will attract more than 3 million views in total.
This is being supported by a carefully targeted newspaper campaign in the Financial Times and How To Spend It magazine, to really show how discerning and business-like George The Bear has become. They can look forward to seeing George like never before as he shows off his new sophisticated look in a high-end fashion shoot.
