Heineken trusts Korean football fans with keys to unmanned bars

Ad Nut has always been baffled of Ad Nut’s human friends’ obsession with a sporting phenomenon where 22 sweaty people kick a ball around a large field. Nevertheless, Ad Nut is open to the exotic conduct of humans and shall remain supportive.

Just like in any other part of the world, football mania is a thing in Korea. Perhaps due to legends such as Son Heung-min and Park Ji-sung. But because of time-zone differences during European matches, Koreans are forced to watch live telecasts around the ungodly hour of 4 am. And because bars usually close up by then, they also tend to watch live matches at home.

Well, the thing about a nation like Korea is that it’s exceedingly trusting and safe as it’s not unseemly to leave one’s belongings unattended in cafés, for instance. Koreans might also use their smartphones to reserve restaurant tables or shop regularly from self-service kiosks. This trusting culture—a default in the woodlands, mind you—is rare in the human world, and cities like Seoul are a unicorn.

Enter Heineken’s brilliant idea to launch what it calls Trust Bars—a concept where fans are allowed into bars on their own past closing time without the presence of bar owners or security. Fans are entrusted to order, pay, and pull their own pints via the beer brand’s self-payment terminals. Security and verification technologies are present to ensure compliance with local drinking age regulations and the responsible service of alcohol.

Not only does this concept give bar owners the chance to rest, but they also get to pick up a few extra dollars without the need for additional manpower. And of course, fans can watch live telecasts in a social setting. The 24/7 Trust Bars—which has already welcomed some 30k football fans—launched in April in Seoul’s trendy Hongdae district during Champions League matches and will conclude with the final on May 31.

Ad Nut is a fan of this idea as it feels like a giant social experiment on morality. One shouldn’t just be well-behaved in the presence of security or surveillance. One should be able to practice socially bound virtues even when no one is looking, or without the immediate presence of an ‘enforcer’. This kind of kinship is very much present in the woodlands—until, of course, a murderous beast shows up to ruin all social order and conveniently topple the building blocks of trust.

These Heineken terminals were designed in collaboration with LeGarage, LePub’s global innovation arm, and can be easily installed digitally. The brand also hints at the concept being rolled out in other “trusting nations” such as Japan and Singapore.

CREDITS

Heineken Global

Head of Global Heineken and Premium Brands: Nabil Nasser
Heineken Global Strategy and Communication Director: Daniela Iebba
Heineken Global Communication Manager: Nalini Bhagwandin
Heineken Singapore Brand and Business Development Director: Agnieszka Gorecki
Heineken Global Digital Development Manager: Pearly Lim

Heineken Korea

Heineken Marketing Director: Giwoun Park
Heineken Marketing Manager: Lynda Kim
Heineken Brand Manager: Gajin Kim
Heineken Brand Manager: Chloe Choi
Heineken Brand Executive: Ella Yeo

LePub

Global CEO LePub, CCO LePub Worldwide: Bruno Bertelli
Global Chief Creative Officer: Cristiana Boccassini
Global Chief Creative Officer: Mihnea Gheorghiu
LePub Singapore, Executive Creative Director: Stephan Schwarz
LePub Singapore, Creative Director Le Garage: Sergey Mast
LePub Singapore, Creative Director: Bruno Andrade
LePub Singapore, Senior Copywriter : Jaime Ludena Diaz
LePub Singapore, Senior Art Director: Savio Fonseca
LePub Singapore, Senior Art Director: Sunny Chuang
LePub Singapore, Senior Copywriter: Denise Cheong
LePub Singapore, Managing Director: Penny Sadlier
LePub Singapore, Client Services Director: Francesca Babet
LePub Singapore, Group Account Director: Alicia Tiong
LePub Singapore, Senior Project Manager: Farhan Wahab
LePub Singapore, Senior Integrated Producer: Anita Toh
LePub Singapore, Creative Services Manager: Nigel Tan
LePub Milan, Associate Creative Director: Roberto Ardigó
LePub Milan, Creative Director: Stefano Zanoni
LePub Milan, Designer & Art Director: Niccoló Orso Campanini
LePub Milan, Business Director: Francesca Baldrighi
LePub Milan, Account Director: Amira Ramadan
Prodigious Milan, TV Producer: Martina Mozzillo
Prodigious Milan, Editor: Andrea Besana
Prodigious Milan, Color Grading: Luca Parma
LePub Singapore, Account Servicing Intern: Neha Maria Mathew

Sound design: Disctodisc Productions - Audio Post Production Italy

Prodigious Singapore

Senior Editor: Germain Wu
Flame Artist: Ryon Chan
Senior Post-Producer: Charmaine Wong

Core.A Creative

Producer: Sarah Kim
Producer: Ashley Sunyoung
Assistant Producer: Blake Jung
DOP: Eun Sung Maeng
1st AC: Do Hyun Lee
2nd AC: Tae Hoon Kim
3rd AC: Young Jun Kim
Data Manager: Min Jae Kim
Gaffer: Seunggeun Lee
Bestboy: Suyeol Lim
Lighting Crew: Seokhwan Jeong
Boom Operator: Hyunbae Jeon
Production Design: Alex Ryu
Production Design Team: Yonghun Ryu

DFYR

CEO: Byung Sam Hwang
COO: Erin Bai
Project Management: Na Hyeon Park
Project Management: Misoo Seok
UI Design: Hee Yoon Jung
Frontend Developer: Ji Sun Lee
Backend Developer: Seung Hyun Kim

Work Post

Editor: Fong

Cream

Director – Maxime Govare
EP – Michel Teicher
Line producer – Tim Salze, Clotilde Lecuillier
DOP – Laurent Tangy

Production Support in Bangkok – Living Films Thailand

Ad Nut is a surprisingly literate woodland creature that for unknown reasons has an unhealthy obsession with advertising. Ad Nut gathers ads from all over Asia and the world for your viewing pleasure, because Ad Nut loves you. You can also check out Ad Nut's Advertising Hall of Fame, or read about Ad Nut's strange obsession with 'murderous beasts'.