Irish pubs are globally recognized cultural icons and continue to play a fundamental role in the communities they serve, and their heritage deserves to be preserved. To help showcase these pubs’ value and importance, Heineken has opened virtual Pub Museums across Ireland.
For this innovative campaign, conceived by creative agency LePub and Publicis Dublin, each pub taking part in the initiative has been transformed into a virtual museum, including historical artefacts, audio guides, and even souvenirs.
To learn more, we spoke to the LePub team.
What was the brief?
Heineken is all about creating a fresher world through the power of socializing, and believes that Bars and Pubs play a fundamental role in that. Since the pandemic, Heineken has made efforts to safeguard these institutions and help them through their financial difficulties, providing ongoing support to bars.
Seeing the financial struggle that pubs in Ireland and the UK are currently experiencing, we looked for a creative way to safeguard these pubs, highlighting their role as cultural icons and protecting them from the risk of closure and redevelopment.
How did the initial pitch/brainstorming phase go?
The team at LePub that originally came up with the idea for Heineken’s Shutter Ads saw in the devastating news of historic Irish pubs’ closure an opportunity for Heineken to help make a difference.
The idea was presented as a proactive campaign to Heineken in December 2023, who welcomed it with excitement. Publicis Dublin was brought onboard to bring their expertise and knowledge to the campaign, which launched in Toners’ Bar in early April 2024.
What was the process behind ideating the concept?
Looking into the closure of historic Irish pubs, some of which have served their communities for hundreds of years, it seemed odd that these buildings of historic significance didn’t have any protection to safeguard their future.
It became apparent that these pubs must have been the setting for amazing stories, and that many held significant artifacts, similar to those inside a museum.
This is how the idea for Pub Museums was born, paired with technology that allowed us to leave the artifacts and spaces untouched, while still gaining the benefits that come with turning a pub into a museum.
What was the production process like?
LePub boasts “Le Garage”, an innovation-focused section of the agency, where the creatives were able to collaborate smoothly with Lens That and 8th Wall to create the AR experience.
After selecting three pubs of historic significance, including Seans’ Bar in Athlone, which is believed to be the oldest pub in Ireland and perhaps the world, the team in Ireland interviewed managers and owners of those pubs, identifying historic artifacts and collecting their stories.
The tech team then proceeded to scan the entire surface of the pubs, tracking the items so graphics and 3D elements could be overlaid. And of course there were audio guides, to accompany each item. The experience launched on both Snapchat Lens and on its own platform, a web-app created through 8th Wall.
What was the biggest challenge during production? How did you overcome it?
AR technology requires the users’ own mobile camera to track and recognise each item. This was particularly challenging in places like pubs, which are usually dimly lit and overcrowded by both people and objects.
Multiple rounds of tracking were needed to perfectly identify each object, and a tech team was present at the launch of each Pub Museum to ensure that the experience worked smoothly for users.
Moreover, researching historic facts about places whose stories are always hung halfway between truth and legend required checking multiple sources and the help of local historians.
What kit/tools/software were used to create the project?
The AR experience was built both as a Snapchat Lens and as a web-app. An Augmented Reality filter created through Snapchat delivers accurate location, and allows multiple media to interweave: 3D objects and mapping, videos, audio guides are seamlessly integrated.
The web-app, on the other hand, created for those unable to use Snapchat, relies on the powerful capabilities of 8thWall, the world’s premier web-AR platform, and delivers a similar experience.
Indoor navigation alongside the pub's geolocation has been paired with training a model to recognize ancient objects present in the spaces. Each artifact was left untouched, yet turned into a 3D object recognizable through 360° using tracking, built with the use of photogrammetry.
What is one funny or notable thing that happened during production?
Meeting the pubs’ owners and staff, hearing their stories and seeing their pride and happiness to be part of the project has been charming.
Discovering that a copy of the famous painting of two dogs featured in the movie Goodfellas was hung in one of the pubs was particularly interesting, we haven’t got to the bottom of that story yet.
What’s the main message of this project and why does it matter?
Irish pubs are cultural icons, buildings of historic significance that have served this purpose and their communities for hundreds of years and need to be protected, one way or another.
When these communities lose a piece of their history because of challenging times we all lose something, our ultimate goal is for the government and organizations such as UNESCO to see pubs as intangible cultural heritage and protect them as such.
How long did it take from inception to delivery?
Le Pub started working on the project in October, it was presented to Heineken Global in December, warmly welcomed by the local Irish market and produced between January and April, with the first Pub Museum opening on the 4th of April 2024.
What do you hope it achieves for the brand?
Pub Museums was created as part of Heineken’s overarching Back The Bars campaign, an effort from Heineken to safeguard and protect bars throughout their local struggles, such as Covid 19, the great resignation, the energy crisis, and now local inflation.
Bars and pubs have always been Heineken’s biggest supporter, Heineken believes it’s their responsibility to back the bars, using their influence as a global brand to protect local institutions.
Credit list for the work?
HEINEKEN
Sr. Director Global Heineken® Brand: Nabil Nasser
Heineken® Global Strategy & Communication Director: Daniela Iebba
Heineken® Global Digital Director: Rob van Griensven
Heineken® Brand Global PR Lead: Jonathan O’Lone
Heineken® Global Communication Manager: Alexander Drake
Heineken® Global Digital Manager: Bob Van Iersel
Heineken® Ireland Marketing Director: Fiona Curtin
Heineken® Ireland Marketing Manager: Mark Noble
Heineken® Ireland Senior Brand Manager: Rachael Crawley
LePub
Global CEO Global, CCO Publicis Worldwide: Bruno Bertelli
Global CCO: Cristiana Boccassini
CCO: Mihnea Gheorghiu
Global Executive Creative Director: Eoin Sherry
Global Creative Director: Jack Christensen
Creative Director: Stefano Zanoni
Associate Creative Director: Roberto Ardigò
Art Director: Flavia Conti
Copywriter: Cristiana Candido
Global Client Service Director: Shirine Aoun
Group Account Director: Ilaria Castiglioni
Account Director: Gonzalo Gutiérrez Gauna
Global Head of PR & Communications: Isabella Cecconi
Global PR Manager: Eleonora Botta
Global Head of Creative Technology: Mauro Mazzei
Head of Digital Production: Vittorio Cafiero
Digital Producer Supervisor: Simona Caldarini
Digital Designer: Serena Murgia
Digital Designer: Federica Muscillo
PUBLICIS IRELAND
Board Creative Director: Ger Roe
Creative Director: Peter Dobbyn
Associate Creative Director: Pedro Gropo
Group Account Director: Ruth McCormack
Senior Agency Producer: Rachel Murray
Senior Art Director: Cormac O’Connor
Technical Lead: Cian Mcintyre
Studio Lead: Hannah MyGlynn
Production Assistant: Jordan Dempsey
Print Production: Gavin Kenny
Business Director: Sinead Dennis
THINKHOUSE
Founder and Head of Creative Innovation: Jane McDaid
Group Account Director, PR & Advocacy: Laura Wall
Account Manager, PR & Advocacy: Lucy Carroll
Account Executive, PR & Advocacy: Niamh Hoy
AR EXPERIENCE
Lens That - XR Creative Studio
