OCEAN VINYL

TitleOCEAN VINYL
BrandSHARP'S BREWERY
Product/ServiceRECYCLED RECORD
Category E01. Artist as a Brand or a Cause Ambassador
Entrant HAVAS LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM
Idea Creation HAVAS LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM
PR ONE GREEN BEAN LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM
Production HAVAS LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM
Credits
Name Company Position
Mark Whelan Havas London Executive Creative Director
Brodie King Havas London Copywriter
Owen Hunter Jenkins Havas London Art director
Alice Marsh Havas London Business Director
Andrew Symonds Havas London Account Manager
Katy David Havas London Account Executive
Kiri Hammond Havas London Agency Executive Producer (film)
Mary Musasa Havas London Agency Producer (film)
James Orr Havas London Agency producer (print)
Ravi Matharu Havas London Strategy Director
Clare Phayer Havas London Planner

Why is this work relevant for Entertainment?

The relationship between brands and entertainment is a very special alliance: together we can not only inspire and delight, but create real lasting change. Ocean Vinyl is the story of how a beer brand joined forces with a Mercury-nominated artist to create a product with purpose. Nick Mulvey’s voice rallied the nation through the world’s first playable vinyl made from washed up plastic from the Atlantic. A powerful vehicle to raise awareness of the issues surrounding the pollution of our oceans. And a powerful combination of entertainment and brand to challenge and change attitudes and behaviour.

Background

Sharp’s Brewery is committed to protecting the Atlantic, the ocean that surrounds its home and inspires its brewing process. It even named a beer after it! It’s the reason why Sharp’s created music using sounds from the Atlantic in 2018, and signed the “act” to Universal under the stage name Keynvor - Cornish for “ocean” - with all royalties going to fund its protection. Build on the success of Keynvor and develop the next iteration of the platform with a new, exciting and highly PR’able entertainment initiative. Raise awareness of Sharp’s commitment to combating ocean plastic in the Atlantic and build an emotional connection with its audience. ● Position Sharp’s Atlantic as a contemporary brand in tune with the demands of the 21st Century drinker. ● Develop a unique collaboration to demonstrate Sharp’s commitment to reducing ocean plastic and take credit for the initiative. ● Raise £10,000: Surfers Against Sewage

Describe the creative idea

Sharp’s Atlantic created the first playable vinyl made from washed-up plastic from the Atlantic. Giving music-lovers the chance to own something that’s made out of ‘single-use’ plastic, something they’ll treasure forever, whilst highlighting the devastating effects of plastic-pollution in our seas. We needed a voice, someone equally passionate about ocean conservation. An artist with a loyal fanbase. An artist with scale and influence. This came in the form of Nick Mulvey. We commissioned the Mercury-nominated artist to write a song with an environmental theme, exploring the responsibility and the future of humanity. The result: In the Anthropocene. A song about the geological age we live in, and the influence humans have over Earth’s ecosystem. We pressed a limited-run on vinyl, 105 copies in total, each one unique. All proceeds from sales and streams supported Surfers Against Sewage to fund essential ocean protection projects in the Atlantic Ocean.

Describe the strategy

The cask ale category is perceived as stale with no real taste for innovation. Drinkers are turning to beers with personality. Craft beers. IPAs. Those who stand up, stand out and believe in something; a cause, a creation, a community. We needed a credible way in. The Atlantic was it. The ocean that surrounds Sharp’s brewery. The same sea that dictates when we down tools and surf. As guardians of the Cornish coast, it had a responsibility to protect it. This was how to engage the modern drinker. By leaning into the sustainability agenda, in particular plastic pollution, and using music, the biggest passion of all, to deliver the message. We would make the idea from the problem, recycling washed up plastic to create a new medium with Ocean Vinyl. An innovation that could carry the message and be the message. To influence popular culture and change attitudes through entertainment.

Describe the execution

Plastic was collected from beaches across Cornwall and processed into working vinyl by a bespoke manufacturer. One-hundred-and-five copies were pressed, each one unique. In The Anthropocene used sounds recorded direct from the ocean. At launch, the track was available to stream via digital services, including Spotify and Apple Music, or purchase via Drift Records as a collectible piece. We created a 30-second trailer, showing the vinyl spinning on a Cornish beach before outlining the process to create it. Nick Mulvey shared numerous stories and engaged fans through social media. His appearance on Sky News ensured the news travelled like wildfire - in TV, print, online, radio. Mulvey extolled the virtues of Ocean Vinyl and the message behind it. Music and environmental influencers rallied behind the project aims and ingenious format. We held an auction for the last remaining vinyl, signed by the artist himself. Our financial target was met.

Describe the outcome

Not only did we create a new track, we created a new medium with Ocean Vinyl. A product with purpose, reminding people of the damage being done to our oceans. A smartly-designed-solution that puts a long-term value value on objects. From a disposable mindset to a love of craft and care. The same mindset that underpins Sharp’s Atlantic Beer. The vinyl sold out within three-minutes of going live. The signed-copy raised £500 with more finding their way onto eBay. The media lapped it up. Sky News described it as a “work of art’ in a three-minute breakfast slot. The vinyl featured in all of its heavenly glory on the BBC’s flagship Jools Holland Show with Nick Mulvey performing the track. Our message reached 24 million people in total. The song was blasted out at the Extinction Rebellion climate protest with chants of “This is our Song”. Entertainment truly infiltrated culture.