Heineken has struck a deal with ITV to debut its alcohol-free beer on draught at Emmerdale’s Woolpack and Coronation Street‘s Rovers Return pub.
From 29 April, real Heineken 0.0 Draught taps will be on the bars in the ITV Soaps, alongside fictional beer brands like Newton & Ridley and Ephraim Monk.
According to the beer company, the”seismic” move follows Heineken’s on-going mission to normalise alcohol-free beer and a huge leap towards making alcohol-free beer “more visible and acceptable in the UK”.
With a combined viewership of 11 million, the new partnership is expected to help break down stigmas and encourage people to explore the category as drinking habits continue to change.
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The move follows the launch of Heineken 0.0 Draught, which launched in a cohort of UK pubs last year, with a national roll-out this year.
“In light of people’s evolving lifestyles and changes to their relationships with alcohol, we’ve done a lot to raise the profile of Low and No beer in recent years – this is the next phase. We are totally committed to bringing Low and No beer from the periphery into the mainstream,” Heineken UK corporate affairs director James Crampton said.
“Coronation Street and Emmerdale are British institutions and both shows have huge influence and cultural currency. From April 29th people are going to tune in to Coronation Street and Emmerdale and see 0.0 taps on screen.”
ITV managing director of continuing director John Whiston added: “We’re really pleased to be able to put a non-alcoholic beer pump on the bar of our iconic soap pubs, The Rovers and The Woolpack. We all know that we need to be more aware of how much we drink.”
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