DB Breweries Crushes Beer Bottles into Sand to Save New Zealand’s Beaches

New Zealand’s DB Breweries and agency Colenso BBDO had a monster hit in 2015 with “Brewtroleum,” a campaign that took the yeast left over from the brewing process and turned it into a clean-burning, conflict-free biofuel—letting consumers, in a sense, save the world by drinking more beer.

And now, client and agency are back for an encore—one that also has an environmental activation at its core.

DV has built a fleet of machines that crush empty glass bottles of DB Export into a sand substitute, which will be used to save New Zealand’s pristine beaches.

Two-thirds of the world’s beaches are retreating, the company says, as demand for sand is high in industries ranging from construction to pharmaceuticals. The bottle-crushing machines will create branded DB Export Beer Bottle Sand, which will be supplied to construction companies and other commercial partners, reducing New Zealand’s dependence on beach-derived sand.

Again, all New Zealanders have to do to help is chug a bottle of DB Export.

A bit about the Beer Bottle Sand Machines themselves: As a bottle is inserted, a laser triggers a wheel of small steel hammers spinning at 2,800 rpm. As the bottle is pulverized, a vacuum system removes silica dust and the bottle’s label, leaving behind 200 grams of sand substitute.

The whole process takes five seconds.

Finding partners for the program was a critical step in achieving scale for the project. The brewer says it is in the process of finalizing a two-year deal to supply DB Export Beer Bottle Sand to DryMix, which is New Zealand’s biggest producer of bagged concrete. The sand will also be supplied to national roading projects, commercial and residential construction, and even golf bunkers.

“Brewtroleum’s success came through finding partners who could make the idea more than advertising,” says Colenso BBDO creative chairman Nick Worthington.

“We’re thrilled to partner with the country’s biggest construction companies to make DB Export Beer Bottle Sand a viable alternative to beach sand. And we’re excited to work with DB Export drinkers to ensure a reliable supply of empty bottles.”

“We can’t solve the problem alone, but we knew we could do more to help,” adds Sean O’Donnell, marketing director at DB Breweries.

“Our ambition is to help drive more recycling while looking out for the beaches which are an integral part of our Kiwi DNA. We’re proud to launch an initiative that can help us do our bit to protect our beaches for future generations.”

Credits:

Client: DB Breweries
Creative Agency: Colenso BBDO
Media Agency: PHD
PR Agency: Spark PR & Activate
Shopper Marketing Agency: Raydar
Digital Agency: Union Digital

Source: Adweek

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