Ferry to promote Carlsberg
Lager brand Carlsberg has signed singer Bryan Ferry to appear in his first high-profile advertising campaign since he was dropped by Marks & Spencer following his controversial comments about Nazi Germany.
The Roxy Music star will front a karaoke-themed TV ad continuing its premise of showing how great the world would be if only everything was as good as Carlsberg.
The advert opens with three men arriving by helicopter to the back stage area of a packed festival where they are treated like famous rock stars. They bump into Ferry and sign autographs for him (pictured) before he leaves for his “support act” dressing room.
The men walk out on stage and launch into a rendition of Martha and the Vandellas’ Dancing in the Street before the camera pans back to reveal them singing from a karaoke machine. The ad ends with the voiceover “Carlsberg don’t do karaoke nights, but if they did, they’d probably be the best karaoke nights in the world”.
The campaign breaks during the opening ceremony of the Rugby World Cup on ITV this week and forms part of Carlsberg’s £13m media spend in 2007. It will be aired in 30 and 40 second versions across ITV networks, Channel 4, Five and digital satellite channels with additional content on www.carlsbergkaraoke.co.uk. The campaign was created by Saatchi & Saatchi with media planning and buying through OMD.
Ferry was dropped by M&S following comments printed in a German magazine praising the architecture and propaganda films of the Third Reich. The interview triggered a House of Commons motion urging shoppers to boycott M&S and refuse to buy Ferry’s albums. The singer, who modelled the Autograph menswear range, was axed by M&S in May although the retailer insisted he had only been contracted for one season.
