750 million people around the globe lack access to clean water. This issue disproportionately affects women, who spend an aggregate of 200 million hours/day collecting the water that keeps their families alive (source: UNICEF).
Stella Artois knows that – without clean water – it would be nothing, and it certainly wouldn't enjoy the 600-year legacy it celebrates today. Stella views access to clean water as a human right, and wants to do something about it.
To make its mark, Stella Artois partnered with Water.org to create the "Buy A Lady a Drink" program (BALAD). Via BALAD, the sale of every special edition Stella Artois chalice provides 5 years of clean drinking water to a woman in one of nine countries in the developing world.
Our objective was to find a way to sell Stella Artois' special chalices in a ways that would be heard and seen all over the world.
Stella Artois' multi-year partnership with Water.org is anchored by a group of special-edition chalices featuring designs reminiscent of the countries where women receive the clean water the campaign provides. Once we had the chalices in hand, we needed a big idea to drive sales.
The unique designs of the chalices themselves inspired us. A casual comment – "If only these chalices could talk" – formed the basis of our developing idea: we would make the chalice a woman and a woman, the chalice. Then we'd put both together in a medium where it couldn't be ignored.
That's how the Oscar dress idea was born. We asked celebrity dress designer, Christian Siriano, to create a dress based on his choice of BALAD chalice, and then we asked Maria Menounos, E! Oscars host, to wear it on the red carpet. Every time someone asked Maria, "Who are you wearing?", she'd have an answer like no other.
In addition to promotion via a Conde Nast integration and multiple short films posted by Christian, Maria and E! in the weeks leading up to the broadcast, Maria had 10 live opportunities to explain Stella Artois' mission and invite viewers to buy the BALAD chalices during and after the Oscar show.
Stella Artois saw a 25% increase in overall chalice sales in only 48 hours! 10,000 special chalices were sold in this same two-day period, meaning 10,000 women were each provided with 5 years of clean drinking water as a result of Stella Artois' "Buy A Lady A Drink" Oscar activation alone.
