Submitted by Billion Dollar BoyAgency IPI Score 83/100

The Virtual Heineken Silver

Influencer Marketing

Heineken launched the world's first virtual, undrinkable beer in Decentraland to drive desire for the real thing, winning four Cannes Lions.

+8.6 ptsAd recall
128MImpressions
94%Positive sentiment

About the campaign

In 2022, brands were rushing into the metaverse with earnest claims that virtual experiences could rival physical ones, and Heineken needed to launch Heineken Silver to a younger, gaming-oriented audience without joining that wave. With Publicis Italy leading creative and Billion Dollar Boy as social and influencer partner, the brand took the opposite position: some things cannot be replicated digitally, and beer is one of them.

The Virtual Heineken Silver launched in a virtual brewery in Decentraland as the world's first undrinkable beer, promoted with full product-launch energy, with influencers invited to virtually taste something they could not drink, a deliberate gap between expectation and payoff designed to build desire for the real thing. The launch extended through an AR app, Oculus, a Snapchat filter and a DOOH campaign across Europe, while 36 creators produced 887 pieces of content to embed the idea in gaming and internet culture. Roughly a month later the real beer arrived via Metabar pop-up parties across more than 30 markets, where time in a beer-free pixelated bar staffed by NPC-style servers unlocked a real tasting next door.

The agency reports 128 million impressions, an 8.6-point ad recall lift and 94 percent positive sentiment, and the campaign won four Cannes Lions in 2022, including Silver in Social and Influencer, plus a One Show Merit in 2023.

Case in 60 seconds

Heineken needed to launch Heineken Silver to a younger, gaming-oriented audience in 2022 without simply joining the wave of brands making earnest metaverse plays that could not deliver a real product experience.

The metaverse cannot replicate sensory experiences, so launching a beer you cannot drink in a virtual world is not a limitation, it is a creative argument for the real thing.

Create the world's first virtual beer in Decentraland, promoted with full product-launch energy, that is literally impossible to taste, then resolve the gap with a real-world tasting a month later.

Billion Dollar Boy activated 36 creators who produced 887 pieces of content across social channels; the launch extended to an AR app, Oculus, a Snapchat filter, and a DOOH campaign across Europe, followed by physical Metabar pop-up events where time in a beer-free pixelated bar unlocked a real tasting next door.

Billion Dollar Boy reports 128M impressions, a +8.6 point lift in ad recall, and 94% positive sentiment; the campaign won four Cannes Lions in 2022, including a Silver in Social & Influencer, and a Merit at The One Show 2023.

Strategy Breakdown

The primary strategy-learning section — interpretation, not a press-release summary.

The campaign targeted a younger, gaming-oriented audience and Gen Z consumers who inhabit internet and gaming culture natively, reached through creators embedded in those spaces rather than through traditional advertising.
In 2022, brands were rushing into the metaverse with earnest claims about virtual experiences being as good as or better than physical ones. Heineken took the opposite position: some things cannot be replicated digitally, and beer is one of them.
Beer is a sensory product whose core value, taste, is impossible to deliver in a virtual environment. The usual metaverse playbook of immersive brand worlds would have sidestepped this problem rather than using it as the creative premise.
Heineken positioned itself as the brand honest enough to call out the metaverse's limits while still entering the space on its own terms, giving the product launch a shareable, talk-worthy angle beyond a standard new-product announcement.
Creating a gap between expectation and payoff, inviting people to virtually taste something they cannot drink, generated the desire to resolve that gap in the real world, converting virtual curiosity into intent to taste the actual beer.

Creative & Execution System

Assets & channels

  • Virtual brewery in Decentraland (influencer taste event)
  • AR app (virtual beer interaction)
  • Oculus integration
  • Snapchat filter
  • DOOH campaign across Europe
  • Social and influencer content (887 pieces across social channels)
  • Physical Metabar pop-up events (pixelated low-tech aesthetic, NPC-style staff, real tasting next door)

Partners

  • Billion Dollar Boy — social and influencer partner (per hellopartner.com and The One Show)
  • Publicis Italy — lead creative agency (per Billion Dollar Boy and The One Show)

Participation mechanic

  • Influencers invited to virtually taste an undrinkable beer at a Decentraland event
  • Consumers engage with AR app, Oculus, and Snapchat filter versions of the virtual beer
  • Physical Metabar attendees spend time in a beer-free pixelated environment to unlock access to real tasting next door

Creator role

  • 36 paid creator partners produced 887 individual content pieces across social channels
  • Creators used to integrate Heineken into gaming and internet culture and reach a Gen Z audience

Results & Evidence

MetricValueResult typeConfidence
Total impressions128MReachAgency reported
Ad recall lift+8.6 ptsBrand awarenessAgency reported
Positive sentiment94%SentimentAgency reported

Awards & Recognition

Award showYearCategoryResultSource
Cannes Lions2022Excellence in Social & InfluencerSilver—
Cannes Lions2022PR (shortlist)Shortlisted—
Cannes Lions2022Media (shortlist)Shortlisted—
Cannes Lions2022Direct (shortlist)Shortlisted—
Cannes Lions2022Data & Technology (shortlist)Shortlisted—
The One Show2023Experiential & Immersive, MetaverseMerit—

Why Billion Dollar Boy's strategy worked

  1. 1

    Taking an ironic stance on a trend rather than joining it straight gave the launch a reason to be talked about beyond a standard product announcement, earning coverage and creator content that a conventional metaverse activation would not have generated.

  2. 2

    The gap between expectation and payoff, inviting influencers to taste a beer they could not drink, created the precise desire the brand needed to resolve in the real world, making the virtual phase structurally necessary rather than decorative.

  3. 3

    Using 36 creators to produce 887 pieces of content embedded the campaign inside gaming and internet culture in a way that fit the target audience rather than interrupting it, supporting a high-volume, organic-feeling social presence.

  4. 4

    The phased structure, virtual launch then physical Metabar then real tasting, meant each stage had a distinct purpose and the physical payoff gave media and creators a second wave of content opportunity approximately a month after the initial launch.

  5. 5

    Clear role division across the multi-agency team, Publicis Italy leading creative, Billion Dollar Boy owning social and influencer, appears to have avoided the diffusion of accountability that multi-partner campaigns can suffer.

  6. 6

    Award recognition at both Cannes Lions 2022 and The One Show 2023 provides independent external validation of the creative approach, even where effectiveness metrics are self-reported.

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