Stella Artois debuts Instagram ads

Stella Artois has become the first beer brand to target millennials by launching a series of sponsored adverts on photo sharing app Instagram.

Instagram started selling sponsored posts last year but Stella Artois is the first beer brand to use the service with the brand’s owner, AB InBev, making use of the digital platform to target millennial consumers. Six images of Stella Artois in festive settings alongside various foods will be broadcast on the site as of today as part of its “Give Beautifully” campaign – tapping into the trend for beer and food pairing.

Lucas Herscovici, Anheuser-Busch’s vice president of consumer connections, said that reaching and engaging with legal drink age millennial consumers was “critical” for all of its brands adding that Instagram was a “very important channel” through which to do so.

He said: “We are excited to work with Instagram as they seek to integrate advertising into the consumer experience, which is as high quality and beautiful as the images users would normally see in their feeds. Given the commitment to artistry and sophistication that defines the Stella Artois brand, we thought featuring imagery supporting the brand’s holiday campaign, “Give Beautifully,” would be the perfect fit.”

He added: “Reaching and engaging legal drinking-age millennial consumers is critical for all of our brands. As a leading social platform for 21+ consumers, Instagram is a very important channel for us.”

Instagram, which is owned by Facebook, uses targeting data to ensure the ads are only shown to appropriately aged consumers.