New Belgium Brewing Co. launches TV ad campaign.

The New Belgium Brewing Company of Ft. Collins, CO, has launched a new TV ad campaign. The ads are now being shown in Arizona, and the company plans to expand them to key regions in 15 other states this Spring. The ads were shot in Hotchkiss and Paonia, Colorado, using a local man (found outside a bike shop in Boulder) as the lead actor. In the ads, he is shown peddling a rickety, vintage JC Higgins bicycle over scenic mountain passes. Marketing director Greg Owlsey said the ads are aimed at boosting consumer consciousness about the company and its beers. "While New Belgium and Fat Tire enjoy a dedicated following, only a relative handful of our consumers really know the progressive sensibilities and whimsical zeal behind the brand," he says. "We knew we needed a way to author our story in a greater and more expressive manner and TV--of all communications!--we found to be not only the most effective, but also one of the more straightforward. People expect to see commercials while watching TV and even enjoy the rare good ones. We're hopeful what we've created is as pleasurable to watch as our beers are to drink." Owsley said the ad spend will be "significantly under" $10 million. "While the media buy isn't shy," he says, "neither is it delusional that we could go head-to-head with the major advertisers." Smaller brewers have rarely ventured into TV advertising on this scale, although a few companies, including the Kalamazoo Brewing Co. of Kalamazoo, MI, have done some very limited TV advertising.