Some Americans love to talk about moving to Canada where things are “better” and while we don’t know if that’s actually true, we do know one huge advantage to being Canadian: free beer.
Popular Canadian brewer Molson has unleashed a marketing campaign of epic proportions (one we kind of wish American brewers would do, too, hint, hint.) They are placing bright red refrigerators in public places all around Europe – what’s inside? Beer. Free beer.
The catch? You’ve got to be Canadian.
To get the free beer, you stick your Canadian passport into an electronic reader in the refrigerator’s door. If you’re really Canadian, the door will pop open, allowing you and anyone you’re with to grab a free beer.
If you want to see how excited people get when they don’t have to pay for beer, there’s a 90 second online video and 30 second TV spot that shows the fridges in action. They were placed in areas like London, Brussels, rural Belgium and the White Cliffs of Dover. The videos show that once the door pops open, a crowd gathers around and everyone toasts all things Canadian.
Molson Coors spokesman Forest Kenney says the marketing campaign’s purpose is to celebrate the pride of being Canadian, “no matter where you are in the world.” It goes along with Molson’s recently resurrected slogan (it was originally killed off in 2004), “I. Am. Canadian.”
We love this idea, but we have many important questions that we want answered:
- Once the fridge is opened, we’re assuming everyone in the general vicinity will try to take all the beers. Does Molson restock the fridge once its empty, or is each fridge opening a one shot deal?
- If a Canadian opens the fridge and there’s no beer left, do they get a rain check?
- Does the passport scanner factor in, only if the person is of legal drinking age?
- Has anyone ever tried to steal a fridge or break one open? We don’t really believe that when faced with the prospect of several bottles of free beer, some crappy people wouldn’t try to crack it open illegally.
Oh wait, one last question…
- Do we have any Canadian readers? If so, will you take us to Europe and help us get free beer? Have we told you lately that we love you?
I’d help you get free beer.