Creative impulse

With concern for the nation's moral health dominating the headlines, even advertisers are taking it upon themselves to show us the correct way to behave. Or at least Doner Cardwell Hawkins are, with their pounds 1.5m print campaign launched last month for Fuller's London Pride beer. Using the slogan "Whatever you do, take Pride", the adverts highlight the need for tact and diplomacy in various awkward situations. One spot, for example, says: "Your mate gets the promotion you wanted. Buy him a drink." The initial burst of 30 will run in London until Christmas, before a national roll-out early next year.

The client: Fuller, Smith and Turner plc

John Roberts, marketing director

The brief was to raise the stature of the brand among ale drinkers, and reinforce the already strong perception of it. It was important for us to be seen as the best, and also to say what London Pride is all about.

The campaign identifies the appropriate way to behave in given situations, which is a nice thing for the brand to to be associated with. There has, of course, been a lot of talk recently about laddism and men behaving badly, and I think we're seeing a backlash against that. The bottom line is that people don't want to behave badly; they want to be seen to do the right thing.

The agency: Doner Cardwell Hawkins

Mike Brady, account director

Talking to consumers, we found there was a specific style of Fuller's pub. A feeling of quality and character permeates the whole company, and we decided to work around the one-word proposition of "character". We wanted something that would combine the product values of the beer and the user values of the drinker. Talking to London Pride consumers, we found that they are honest, upstanding sorts, and so we sought to link the honest, upstanding character of the beer and the honest, upstanding character of the drinkers.

We began by presenting moral dilemmas that ordinary people might find themselves facing. We felt we needed to be serious and simple at first. But the opportunity has developed for us to use more humorous examples, like "Your mate asks you honestly what you think of his goatee. Tell him the truth".

If you go back 10 or 15 years, beer advertising used a lot of knockabout humour, but I think the days when you can just tell a gag are gone. Our ads will raise a smile, but there is a serious kernel. Between ourselves and Fuller's, this has become known as the "Men Behaving Well" campaign, and ordinary punters seem to be buying into this. This is the way that most of them live their lives, and this is the first beer ad that goes out of its way to recognise that.

Scott Hughes