Wine Brand's Excellent Launch Ads Admit This Really Was the Worst Time to Launch

Outdoor ads don’t work that well when everyone is … not outdoors.

But TBWALondon embraces that obstacle in a fun OOH campaign for HUN, a new canned wine brand in the U.K. A series of self-deprecating posters makes fun of itself with various witty headlines calling out the brand—and its agency—for such a dumb media buy.

Even the press release from the agency is amusing. It opens: “TBWALondon has created a new campaign that no one will see, to launch a new drinks brand that no one has ever heard of.”

Check out the OOH work itself here:

“Even at the best of times launching a new product is tough. But launching a sociable wine brand in the midst of a global lockdown, when no one’s allowed out, could just be the worst timing ever … or is it?” says TBWALondon chief creative officer Andy Jex.

“We’ve spent the last eight months gearing up towards what we hoped was going to be one of the best brand launches ever in summer 2020,” adds Mark Woollard, a co-founder of HUN. “We faced the fact that its actually going to be the worst brand launch ever and TBWA supported our vision to be the best, worst product launch ever seen.”

It’s a fun way to take advantage of discounted rates being offered by OOH companies at the moment. Indeed, the campaign was concepted, and the media was bought, after the country had gone into lockdown—so this is very much a strategy and not a fallback idea.

“We never expected to be launching in the midst of a global pandemic, and while many might think it’s crazy to launch a new business in the current climate, our brand aims to build a community based around supporting and entertaining, so what better time to put these values into practice?” Woollard says.

Social media posts support the OOH work.