Dutch Dress
Bavaria2010
Dutch Dress is a 2010 ambush marketing stunt and promotional merchandise for Bavaria, created by Selmore.
Why it works
Dutch brewer Bavaria was not a World Cup sponsor; Budweiser was the official beer in 2010. Bavaria instead sold an orange mini-dress, the Dutch Dress, as part of a gift pack with its beer in the Netherlands. At the Netherlands v Denmark match in Johannesburg, stewards ejected 36 women wearing it, two Dutch women were arrested under South Africa's strict World Cup marketing laws, and ITV sacked pundit Robbie Earle after their tickets were traced to his allocation. Prosecutors dropped the charges once FIFA reached an agreement with Bavaria. It is taught as the textbook ambush: an almost unbranded item, a heavy-handed response, and a story that travelled worldwide while the official sponsor paid for the rights. Marketing Week reported a spike in UK traffic to Bavaria's website and recalled the brand's history: fans in its branded trousers had been refused entry to a match at the 2006 World Cup. The Dutch Dress case won Selmore a Bronze Lion in Promo & Activation at Cannes in 2011.
Techniques
- Guerrilla and ambient Ambushes the World Cup with an almost unbranded orange dress, so the heavy-handed ejections become a worldwide story.
- Transfer Rides on the prestige of a World Cup match it never sponsored, letting the event's spotlight fall on a beer brand's dress.
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