Armin van Buuren urges Heineken fans to dance more, drink slow

Heineken is extending its commitment to promote responsible drinking with a new international campaign dubbed “Dance More, Drink Slow.” The effort builds on the idea that when people know their limits—stay sober or drink just a bit during parties—they get maximum of the night experiences. For the campaign, Heineken collaborated with the recognized Dutch DJ Armin van Buuren who created a new track, titled in line with the effort’s message, and starred in an advert by the acclaimed music video director Philip Andelman.

To demonstrate the power of good music in making people drink less, Heineken conducted a social experiment that involved two DJs, alcohol and the same number of ordinary club goers—all at the same Miami location and observation time, but on two different days. On the first night, some DJ played tracks that were boring and couldn’t inspire the clubbers, so they didn’t hit the dance floor and had to seek other stuff to get excited—beer, in particular. On the other night, Armin van Buuren took over the reins, and people started to dance more than drink. The number of drinks served during the nights differed dramatically—1,078 on the first night vs. 632 on the second one.

The “Dance More, Drink Slow” campaign is set to roll across 20 countries, motivating millions of consumers to generate their night energy from dancing rather than sipping another alcohol cocktail. The latest effort syncs with the “Sunrise” campaign launched in late 2011, inspiring people to re-discover the joy of seeing the sunrise—and this is possible only if they haven’t drunk too much the other night. Heineken has also launched a refreshed version of the “Sunrise” TV advert that now features the new “Dance More, Drink Slow” tagline.

The anthem of the campaign, the “Save My Night” single, is available on Spotify and iTunes for $1.29. Consumers can join the conversation using the #DMDS hashtag that is highlighted in the new spot.