With Christmas arriving in less than two months, brands which are associated with this holiday most have a great opportunity to come on the forefront of promotional activity in winter. Beer is not likely to be the symbol of Christmas and doesn’t relate to it in any way, but Stella Artois does. The history of Anheuser-Busch InBev‘s lager brand roots deeply in this holiday (Stella means star in Latin, for the iconic Christmas star), and that’s why Stella Artois always have something in stock to surprise its fans for Christmas, from digital eco-cards to divine advertising. Just like Starbucks did in early 2011 celebrating Chinese New Year, Stella is releasing an exclusive eight-track holiday EP dubbed Under The Holiday Star to contribute to the festive spirit all across the globe.
Photo: Stella Artois Under the Holiday Star EP
The album will be uploaded to the Stella Artois official website—the first one, Nutcracker March will be available starting tomorrow, November 1. The new musical product is inspired by the brand’s previous Christmas work, the 2010 advert featuring hilarious ice sculptures (on the cover, a girl from 60’s is sitting in the ice armchair)—and is also infused with vintage style, the spirit of the age and the charm represented by jazz orchestration.
Photo: Stella Artois Under the Holiday Star EP
There’ll be eight jazz tracks, which were recorded Los Angeles, New York and Paris under the guidance of composers Gordon Minette, James Leibow and Andy Bloch and arranger Dan Block. The compilation, which will be available for free, includes both legendary songs like Deck The Halls, The Nutcracker March, Auld Lang Syne and two original tracks Snowball and Let’s Call It Quits. The Winter Wonderland and Baby It’s Cold Outside will be available only for the first 500,000 downloads. One of these songs (the brand doesn’t say which one yet) will be also featured in Stella Artois 2011 Christmas campaign.
In her interview to Billboard.biz, Emma Fox, global marketing manager for Stella Artois, shared that «from vintage sound equipment and instruments to a 33-rpm vinyl-playing turntable carved out of ice pictured in the cover art, the album was created «using a keen eye and ear for authenticity in true Stella Artois fashion.»