THE BREWDOG AD WE (VERY RELUCTANTLY) LOVE

If you've ever read anything we've written before, you'll know that we're not the biggest fans of Brewdog out there. (Understatement of the year.) But even we had to reluctantly give them their dues for this ad, because it's a genuine banger. As much as it feels like agreeing with Piers Morgan, this bit of copy more than earns its place in the swipe file.

One of the biggest lessons you can learn from Brewdog's monster success in their early days is the acceptance that you're always going to be compared to the market leaders and category big dogs. (Even if that comparison is in people's heads.) Brewdog leaned all the way into that with these ads (a companion ad called out Fosters too). But the key thing was that it wasn't just a vibes thing. It was based on objective data. And that's why it landed so well. (If this ad was just like "Wassup bud, you should drink a real beer" it would fall flat.) It doesn't hurt that it's funny, just the right amount of cocky and a play on Budweiser's famous campaigns, either. But if the thought of calling out your competition isn't for you (or you're not there yet), try this instead: what can you highlight that you do differently? How can you make sure you win that mental comparison between you and the market leaders? What's the thing you can say that makes people go "oh wow, that must be better?". Maybe you don't do a headline or a big OOH ad campaign, but a comparison table or transparency into your ingredients or an email that shows your customer support team go above and beyond all helps people take that first step to trying your product for the first time. And that's huge.