Sometimes too, anxiety by its handlers at parent, Heineken/Nigerian Breweries may result in pulling out a good campaign material and replacing it with a dull one. NB's latest creative effort for Star is a new TV commercial that appears unattractive if not dull. NB pulled the well received Star-'connecting peoples 'theme TVC for a new one that emphasizes a new “shine on..” theme. The switch coincides with the arrival of new marketing director, Drenth who was re-deployed from Heineken in Ireland to NB Plc. Star, taking the natural quality of stars in the sky has long asked its drinkers to “have a brighter life..” Then, the enigmatic strapline developed by legendary Lowe Lintas Creative director and copywriter, Ted Mukoro ”shine shine bobo...' using the local English pidgin had stuck with the brand.

Whereas, the new star slogan 'shine on..' may be a new ,bold, inspirational words...' to the lager's lovers and perhaps, a new interpretation of 'having a brighter life”, the creative environment of the message appears so dull and in my view, un-inspirational. Indeed, it appears to be a sharp contrast to the previous creative material, the TV commercial which was quite a lovable work of art—the music, the drama, and the atmosphere.

Viewers can see the new TVC currently running on national TV channels for the brand. It shows several young men and women carrying boards or panels which, on cue, they run with and all converge at a particular location where they fuse their boards to form a huge Star bottle. Doing that, in my view, is not the choice of a beer drinker, especially a Star drinker. I have always had something against so many persons running in one direction to place things together to form a product .Quite nice for school children .But for adults?

I thought the conventional understanding is that people drink their beer for various reasons. How does running in one direction to hoist product panels 'trip' them or conveys a strong and refreshing message to them? The profile of the average beer drinker does not suggest he or she, too would love this creative material. Its one thing to like or be indifferent and its another to absolutely love a creative material. The new Star creative material also appears so close to the creative concept for another Nigerian Breweries brand, Maltina. The TVC shows many people running out from their homes, offices, where ever after sniffing the aroma of Maltina, to converge at a common place-- the beach where a cooler of the malt drink is waiting. A carnival-like atmosphere is also created with people dancing and drinking the brand. Then, the pay off line —'enjoy the brighter life...or enjoy more happiness...”whatever.

Its a typical Lowe Lintas creative concept for a longstanding and typical client, NB Plc. There are no surprises here. Breaking News is that Nigerian Breweries may have reversed the situation with the release of a new TVC that creates a lot more excitement around the brand. The music is good and heart-warming, having that 'feel good' quality that is typical of a lifestyle consumer brand as beer. And the TVC is shorter, about 30 secs unlike the previous one which is 45 sec to a minute long. Drenth and his team can argue that the Star commercial needs a change after some time despite its popularity, which may justify changing the three year old 'Star-connecting people' TVC and replacing it with a new Star-'Shine on' TVC.

The latest of the Star –Shine on commercials may not be as popular as the previous TVC.It may yet catch on.