New animation film, non-alcohol beer mark campaign to reduce drink driving

Tuesday marked the latest iteration of AB InBev's "Smart Drinking, No Drink & Drive" campaign with a major gala by Shanghai's Huangpu River right ahead of China's annual "9/9 National Philanthropy Day".

The brewer took advantage of the philanthropic gathering to release its latest hip-hop public-awareness animation Never Drink and Drive, co-produced with the Beijing Forbidden City Culture Development Co and starred by Harbin Beer's Generation Z virtual character Hajiang, as well as the brand's first no-alcohol beer, seeking to address the country's fast-changing social landscape in which drink-driving is becoming younger.

Jan Craps, the chief executive officer and president of AB InBev APAC, said: "We've been wholeheartedly devoted to our 'Smart Drinking, No Drink & Drive' public-awareness campaign in China for 12 years in a row. And the Chinese love to say that 12 years mark a full circle as well as a complete success, but in our eyes, such an endurance just urges us to further think and innovate."

Harbin Beer took advantage of the smart drinking gala to launch its first non-alcohol beer. Brewed with a unique process of precision dealcoholization, the product is brewed to retain the flavor and rich taste of traditional beer while reducing the alcohol content as much as possible. This has also been AB InBev's first product-based breakthrough after a 12-year commitment to no-drink-driving that has focused on social norms to change consumer behaviors.

The brewer sees the launch as a firm step toward one of its global smart drinking goal commitments, which tends to have such low-alcohol offerings account for at least 20 percent of its global beer volume by 2025.