Pilsen Beer is the unique beer of Medellín, with a history dating back to 1904. As an ambassador brand of the city and its culture, Pilsen felt a responsibility to take action in restoring the city's damaged reputation linked to drug cartels and sex tourism. By doing so, not only would it boost the pride of Medellín's residents in their city, but it would also strengthen brand loyalty among its consumers.

Our brief was to create a campaign that shows Colombians and the world the new reality and the positive aspects of Medellín. We aimed to develop a campaign as a brand ambassador for Medellín, showcasing the best of the city to the world, while increasing brand affinity by creating shareable content. Additionally, it was important to discourage sexual tourism and drug tourism in Medellín.

In the last three decades, Medellín's image has often been associated with its dark past of drug cartels and sex tourism, overshadowing the city's significant transformation. This perception was shaped by numerous news stories and narratives focusing on drug-related violence, leaving a lasting mark on the city.

Pilsen, Medellín's iconic beer since 1904, sought to address this issue by rewriting the original global article that put Medellín's reality in the spotlight. So we invited Rolling Stone, the magazine that first published the story in 1989, to revisit the city and rewrite a new article about the new reality of Medellín.

"Rewriting Medellín," an article released in 2023 by Rolling Stone, gained widespread attention and inspired other media to rewrite their portrayals of Medellín, highlighting the city's current reality.

While empowering the people of Medellín by showcasing the best image of their city to the world, Pilsen's mission was to send a message to foreigners who intend to visit the city for the wrong reasons like narco tourism and sex tourism, revealing a new reality of the city, its attractions, and historical events of its transformation unknown to many.

With a heritage of being the ambassador brand of Medellín for over 100 years, Pilsen had a simple strategy to restore Medellín's image: rewriting its past.

To achieve this, all we had to do was rewrite past articles and stories, starting with the first one that highlighted the era's reality in Rolling Stone in 1989, "The Cocaine Capital of the World." Subsequently, other media outlets joined our campaign by revising their stories from the past.

Implementation: Once we identified the 1989 Rolling Stone article "The Cocaine Capital of the World," which shaped Medellín's global image until now, we decided it was time to rewrite it. We launched a campaign on our social media platforms, supported by influencers and strategically placed OOH, with a singular message directed at Rolling Stone to reframe its past article about Medellín.

Timeline: Initially, we pressured Rolling Stone through social media, influencers, and OOH in our campaign.

Subsequently, the magazine accepted our call, and one month later, they published a new article about Medellín titled "Medellin Rewrites its History" depicting the city's new reality.

Placement: Our campaign aired on the brand's social media and through influencers who helped amplify our message to reach Rolling Stone.

Scale: The campaign received coverage on digital platforms and social media, allowing the people of Medellín to embrace the "Rewriting Medellín" message and proudly share it.

- Earned Media: USD 1 Million (10x Campaign Budget)

- Earned Impressions: 41 Million

- Sales: Pilsen reversed a decrease of -5.1% compared to Last Year (LY) and concluded the campaign period with a +2.3% vs LY and +7.4% vs Last Month (LM).

- Socially Responsible Brand: +10 percentage points (setting a record for the brand at 40.1 percentage points).

- Brand with Heritage: +14 percentage points vs LY.

- Brand Love: Increased by +2.3 percentage points vs LY.

- Positive Sentiment: +97%

- First Choice: +5.1 percentage points vs Last Year (LY)

- Change in Perception: By the end of the campaign, Medellín's positive image increased by +51.4 percentage points, from 13.5% to 64.9%.