The week in pictures

(Photo: Carlsberg)

In Big Beer, Carlsberg officially kicked off the celebrity component of its new “honest” marketing campaign in the UK with a TV ad starring Mads Mikkelsen.

The advert, which launches this month, will run through summer and “deliver the same honesty and humour as the campaign”, according to a statement from the brewer.

If you can’t be bothered to watch the video, in it, Mikkelsen confesses that “in the UK, Carlsberg pursued being the biggest, not the best and the beer suffered”.

After enjoying a pint of new Carlsberg Danish Pilsner, we discover Mikkelsen has gone full Bond-villain and had the guy “responsible” for the original recipe taken out.

Speaking of Carlsberg, who remembers when Scottish brewer Tennent’s erected a billboard at its Duke Street visitor centre questioning the validity of the Danish brewer’s claims, directly across the street from a Carlsberg billboard?

Brewdog aired its new advert this week.

Well, another very famous Scottish beer business, Brewdog, also recently launched an “honest” ad campaign.

This one, which aired during an ad break in the latest episode of HBO’s Game Of Thrones, involved a 30-second video featuring the word ADVERT displayed in large font, with a can of Punk IPA in front of it while thrash metal music plays.

On buses, the ad is worded ‘ADVERT ON A BUS’ above a picture of a can of the ale.

Taking a leaf out of Tennent’s book, Forest Road Brewing Co., a smaller brewery based in east London, has asked people to take pictures of themselves holding bottles of its own flagship beer – Work IPA – to cover the cans of Brewdog in the ads – and then share their images on social media with @forestroadbrew and the hashtag #beerthatworks both on Instagram and Twitter.

Beer fans who follow Forest Road’s orders can claim a free pint from Forest Road Brewing Co’s Tap Room in Hackney by showing their picture to the bar staff.

Philippe Sereys de Rothschild and Eva Longoria at the Cannes film Festival.

On Monday, Eva Longoria hosted the Global Gift Initiative Charity Dinner at the Cannes Film Festival’s Mouton Cadet Wine Bar. The Desperate Housewives star was welcomed by Philippe Sereys de Rothschild, Chairman and CEO of Baron Philippe de Rothschild SA and Camille Sereys de Rothschild.

(Photo: Anthony Upton)

Of course, the big news for drinks industry folk this week was all at London Wine Fair.

There was a 7% fall in visitors to the three-day event this year, with 13,260 members of the trade passing through the doors at Kensington Olympia from Monday to Wednesday.

Speaking at an industry briefing on Monday morning, WSTA chief executive Miles Beale warned that the threat of a no-deal Brexit was very much on the trade body’s mind, largely because many companies are being forced to “waste” valuable assets in stockpiling and contingency planning.

Speaking on the panel, Ed Baker of Kingsland Drinks admitted the contingency planning alone had already impacted the business by around 5-10%, (not taking allowance of any long-term trends) and although the majority of the stockpiled drinks the company had prepared ahead of the original March deadline was now being unwound, wine companies in the UK were facing ramping this up again in the autumn.

In lighter news, we announced the winners of our Drinks Business Awards 2019 at a packed-out ceremony during London Wine Fair’s Tuesday session.

This year’s winners drew attention to the rising importance of sustainable packaging, the strength of the English wine sector, and the importance of investment in staff training, market research and product development. You can find all the winners here.

The Chelsea Flower Show also kicked off this week, giving businesses the perfect excuse to go OTT on floral brand activations.

Botanical mixer brand Fentimans has partnered with London hotel The Langham to create the ‘Bed of Roses’, while also parking a flower-bombed pink Land Rover at the front door, creating another Insta-friendly floral destination in London for those who can’t bear the slog out West.

Meanwhile in Chelsea, Edinburgh Gin and John Lewis & Partners set up a gin-inspired flower display made with 3,000 live blooms as part of the borough’s annual Chelsea in Bloom art show.

The floral peacocking exercise sees shop fronts around the borough transformed with eye-catching, open-air installations in order to attract shoppers.

This year’s theme was “Under the Sea”, so the marketers at Edinburgh Gin jumped on the chance to showcase the brand’s Seaside expression.

Chelsea in Bloom visitors are invited to vote for their favourite display to win the ‘People’s Champion Award’.

On Wednesday, Patrón Tequila was the spirits sponsor at jewellery designer Stephen Webster’s launch of the iconic Tequila Lore Set at London’s Mandrake hotel, with guests including comedian Katherine Ryan, Made in Chelsea star-turned musician Frederick Ferrier, Spandeau Ballet guitarist Gary Kemp, Agent Provocateur founder Joe Corré, and designer Amanda Wakeley.

Our spies on the inside inform us that Katherine Ryan “LOVED” the cocktail-making tutorial the Tequila brand put on and, presumably, enjoyed drinking them even more.

In “Lujereh” British car maker Rolls-Royce has unveiled a £37,000 Champagne chest which comes complete with four V12 engine-inspired flutes, two “thermal caviar caissons”, two blini holders, two mother of pearl caviar spoons and a canapé capsule.

The Champagne chest is the latest addition to Rolls-Royce’s accessory portfolio, a range that also includes a wood-lined cigar humidor, lambswool floor mat, picnic hamper and parasol.

The chest is said to be suitable “for the most extravagant of environments, from a superyacht to the terrace of a private residence”.

On Tuesday, db had the pleasure of an evening with cricketing star Ian Botham, who was in conversation with Joe Fattorini to talk about his recently-launched premium range of Australian wines, and to hear about his love of Australia, wine making and cricket ahead of an exciting summer of sport in the UK.

We stopped by to give “Beefy” his Special Commendation in the Best Launch category of our Drinks Business Awards 2019, which took place earlier that day. Congrats!

And on Friday, Sherry label Tio Pepe continued its 10th anniversary celebrations by kicking off a weekend of dancing, drinking, and general summer merriment at Feria de Londres on London’s Southbank.

Running from 24 to 26 May, the three-day festival, inspired by Andalusia’s traditional spring fairs, includes everything from flamenco dancing classes to face painting and fan making, and of course, plenty of Andalusian cuisine from London’s best-known Spanish stores.

Tio Pepe is hosting a series of Sherry tasting masterclasses where guests will be able to explore the different styles, while also grabbing a Sherry cocktail.