Alcoholism is a disease that is often kept quiet about. We wanted to activate people to talk about it and bring it into the open. The best way to get people talking is humour. Key element was a paper cup of coffee designed to look like a glass of beer with the URL of the client. During one week in October 2014, in the early morning hours several non-alcoholic coffee bars in Zurich served their coffee to go in these special “beer” cups. The headline on the cups read: “If you need alcohol first thing in the morning, you need our help. www.bluecross.ch”. That way, a broad group of people got aware of the help and assistance “Blue Cross Zurich” is offering. The stunt generated so much PR in local media, that the website traffic of the Blue Cross increased by 22.4%.

During one week in October 2014, in the early morning hours, several non-alcoholic coffee bars in Zurich served their coffee to go in cups looking like a glass of beer. The headline on the cups read: “If you need alcohol first thing in the morning, you need our help. www.bluecross.ch”

People going on about their daily routine, grabbing a cup of coffee on their way to work or school, were taken aback by the unusual cup their received. The unanticipated look of their cup drew attention to the message on the cup. Not only the persons with the cup was surprised but also their friends and causal bystanders had to do a double take to realize they were not really drinking beer in the morning. The campaign got people talking and discussing about a topic that is too often kept quiet about.

The stunt generated so much PR in local media, that the website traffic of the Blue Cross increased by 22.4%.

The unanticipated look of the cups drew attention to the message on the cup. Not only the persons with the cup was surprised but also their friends and causal bystanders had to do a double take to realize they were not really drinking beer in the morning. The campaign got people talking and discussing about a topic that is too often kept quiet about.