Since this branded entertainment case is an experiential event there are no imposed restrictions. Except of course the normal ethical ones.

Challenge: 1. Position Carlsberg as a reward for people showing courage. 2. Give new meaning and gravity to the whole tired concept of ‘friendship’ in the context of beer advertising.

Objective: Position Carlsberg as a reward for close, very close, friends showing courage and standing up for their true mates when needed by conducting a branded entertainment reality-experience.

Strategy: We didn’t flatly claim that Carlsberg is a reward for true mates standing up for a friend, we demonstrated it and by doing so dramatically associating the brand not just to friends, but to friends who would practically kill for each other. Making it so much more than the average ‘social-friendship-beer’-ad. Witnessing such true friendship makes us question ourselves, and our own friends. It makes us wonder if any of our friends would do that for us.

Execution: in the middle of the night we let a group of guys call their best friends to get them out of hoc of a poker night gone wrong. After explaining what's at stake, each guy asks their best friend at the end of the line to bring €300 to the sketchy gangster dungeon where they’re being held captive.

This live piece of branded entertainment was filmed, put on YouTube and seeded to extend conversations.

In the middle of the night we let a group of guys call their best friends to get them out of hoc of a poker night gone wrong. After explaining what’s at stake, each guy asks their best friend at the end of the line to bring €300 to the sketchy gangster dungeon where they’re being held captive.

We didn’t use actors pretending to be friends. We used real friends in action. It is not staged.

The message is in the outcome of this experience, not in the experience itself. It’s in the relief that we witness true friendship.

The questions "what would you do to safe a friend in need?" and "would my friends do that for me?" not only lies in the heart of the campaign but in the heart of all conversations. Globally. The Carlsberg friendship test went around the world from the very start. The talk-value of the campaign was instant and the social video - made from the stunt - made the online and offline headliners instantly, gained over 4m views and over 400.000 shares in its first week (still counting). After 2 weeks over 160m people were reached and earned media was estimated over $4m (still counting).