Bombardier secures 1m tie-up with Pub Landlord show

Bombardier, the Wells & Young Brewing Company (W&YBC) beer brand, is sponsoring the new ITV comedy chat show Happy Hour, hosted by the Pub Landlord character created by comedian Al Murray, in a deal worth £1m.

W&YBC managing director Nigel McNally says: “The Al Murray tie-up is a very significant sponsorship deal for us, and will complement all our other activity, including the promotions we will be doing around St George’s Day in April, perfectly.”

Bombardier’s marketing focuses on its “Englishness” and it has supported St George’s Day since 1998. The strategy has proved successful for W&YBC: sales of Bombardier have gone up by 35% in each of the past three years, in what is generally a declining sector.

W&YBC is a joint venture between London brewer Young’s and Bedford-based brewer Charles Wells, which has taken over the production, distribution and marketing for all of the two family-owned companies’ beer brands.

W&YBC is positioned as a national brewer of cask and specialty beers and, with annual sales of 480,000 barrels, is the UK’s third-biggest regional brewer, behind Wolverhampton & Dudley and Greene King.