The agency appeared on The Pitch, the programme’s advertising face-off segment, where agencies were tasked with a deliberately provocative brief: convince Gen Z to bring back drinking culture.

Rather than promoting alcohol itself, Havas Red’s campaign focused on what it argued younger audiences are increasingly losing—spontaneity, shared social experiences, and imperfect moments that become lasting memories.

The campaign, titled A Good Life, follows a conversation between a young adult and their grandfather reflecting on life, regret, and the value of unplanned social moments.

Scenes of nights out, gatherings, and messy human interaction are contrasted against themes now deeply embedded in Gen Z culture: doomscrolling, wellness routines, loneliness, and the pressure to maintain a “perfect” life.

Shane Russell, Chief Executive Officer of Havas Red, said the agency intentionally avoided producing a conventional alcohol advertisement.

“We weren’t interested in making an ad about drinking itself,” Russell said.

“We wanted to create something about spontaneity, shared experiences and the moments people remember for years afterwards. The campaign was really about social culture and human connection more broadly,” he added.

The work reflects wider shifts taking place across Australia’s social and nightlife economy, as younger consumers increasingly drink less frequently than previous generations and spend more time socialising online.

The post Havas Red tackles Gen Z drinking culture debate in emotional Gruen campaign appeared first on MARKETECH APAC.

‘Gruen’ is an Australian TV series currently airing on the Australian channel ABC which focuses on advertising. Part of that TV series is the segment ‘The Pitch’, where two competing marketing or advertising companies create an advertisement for an ‘unsellable’ product.

On the new ‘The Pitch’ segment, both agencies were asked to create an advertisement encouraging Australians to get vaccinated against COVID-19, a topic that dominated the show.

For Analogue Folk’s part, they produced an ad asking why people ignore those they care about, but listen to strangers on the internet spreading misinformation. However, Paper Moose’s ad utilized a high-pressure situation to explore the current issue of skepticism towards COVID-19 vaccinations, where in fact millions of lives currently depend on it.

The ad depicted a man having an allergic reaction but asking questions about the EpiPen he is being administered as he struggles. The ad then ends with a message ‘science has our back’ and to get the vax.

Commenting on the ad execution, ‘Gruen’ panelist and Australian businessman Russel Howcroft stated, “The first commercial from Analogue Folk, I think that was really well made. However, the insight from Paper Moose, in particular the idea that the brand matters, when there’s a bigger thing at play, it really appealed to me enormously.”

Fellow ‘Gruen’ panelist Sunita Gloster also agreed, stating that ‘[Paper Moose’s ad] felt more cohesive and I think it addressed one of the barriers in a way that didn’t get your back up.”

Speaking as well in agreement with Paper Moose’s ad execution, panelist Todd Sampson commented, “I think there was one clear winner there, and it won. I thought that to take one of the big concerns that anti-vaxxers have, and then to dramatize it in that way – by the way I thought they could have gone serious or funny with it, both would have been powerful – I thought the second one [Paper Moose] was much better.”

This is the third season in a row that Paper Moose has taken victory, with a draw the year before.

The post Paper Moose’s COVID-19 vax ad pitch wins in TV series Gruen appeared first on MARKETECH APAC.