Boston Beer Company, Inc.: It's What's Inside campaign

The Boston Beer Company’s Samuel Adams brand was one of America’s first specialty beers but was suffering increased competition from mass market brewers who had introduced their own “craft brews.” In response, it launched an aspirational ad campaign in 1998 focusing on “what’s inside” the beer.

Boston Beer Company, Inc.: It's What's Inside campaign

Robert Schnakenberg

OVERVIEW

In August 1998, after a two-month review, the Boston Beer Company, Inc. replaced its longtime ad agency, Carmichael Lynch, with Interpublic Group's McCann-Erickson. The New York-based agency's first work for the Samuel Adams Boston Lager brand retained the aspirational thrust of the final campaign from Carmichael Lynch but adopted a more straightforward approach that defined both the beer and its consumers. The resulting campaign, "It's What's Inside," was introduced later in the year and included both television and radio spots. Cofounder and CEO James Koch expressed confidence in the...

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