Carlsberg launches first global brand campaign

Carlsberg has announced a new global brand campaign, championing that all progress in the world starts with a spark of curiosity.

The new campaign – Do the best things begin with curiosity? Probably – is the first time Carlsberg will run a global campaign across all 120 markets, rolling it out in the UK, Asia, South America and Europe throughout 2024 and into 2025.

The campaign leads with a brand film sitting across social, digital, TV and film. The story takes a trip through the ages to discover how, through a spark of curiosity, music was born. The witty, entertaining film synonymous with Carlsberg’s marketing heritage features modern-day clubbers, jazz-era swingers, dancing Roman Legionnaires, flautist shepherds and even whistling cavepeople.

Launched first in Hong Kong on 1 April and in the UK from 1 May, the new campaign will be a fully integrated campaign across cinema, TV, online video and BVOD, consumer PR, CRM, OOH, social media, e-commerce and internal communications as well as through in-store and outlet activations.

Accompanying the main brand film, there are more than 100 flexible brand assets that will sit across all platforms, with assets for social media and e-commerce that introduce entirely new scenarios for consumers who are eager for content.

The ‘hop’ leaf from the Carlsberg logo takes centre stage in this new campaign, becoming a more distinctive brand icon that runs consistently across all touchpoints, driving recognition in addition to the brand’s iconic green.

Carlsberg’s popular ‘probably’ tag remains an important element of the campaign, introduced through lines such as “Do the best things begin with curiosity? Probably” as well as the iconic “Probably the best beer in the world”.

The film uses the iconic, late-80s breakbeat track, The 900 Number by The 45 King. The original track is featured alongside samples authentic to instruments in each era featured in the ad.

“This campaign is rooted in the insight that we can push the boundaries of progress with curiosity, something that is intrinsic to our core values at Carlsberg,” Lynsey Woods, global brand director at Carlsberg, said.

“Our founder J.C. Jacobsen’s mantra was ‘Semper Ardens’, Latin for ‘always burning’. Today, over 177 years later, we are still using our curiosity to push the boundaries of brewing beer through science, whether that’s finding new ways to reduce the energy and water needed in the brewing process, or developing crops which can tolerate a more extreme climate.

“We want to showcase, with a little fun, wit and entertainment, that we can all reinvigorate our curious side, and we hope the campaign does just that for beer drinkers across the world.”