Irn-Bru drops linear to target Scottish Gen Z

The Media Plan

Irn Bru, the AG Barr soft drink, has dropped linear TV and opted for an integrated video-led media strategy across “key Gen Z-focussed” channels in its latest campaign.

This is the third iteration of Irn Bru’s “Taste Debate” campaign, and is the second time its media agency the7stars has led media planning and buying strategy for the soft drinks brand since winning the account last year, and follows on from its planning of the “Phenomenal Christmas” campaign featuring The Snowman based on the film and picture book of the same name, which has run in various iterations since 2006.

The media plan targets 16-34s in Scotland and, instead of buying spots on linear TV, it focusses on “the changing media habits of young people”.

The parody action film 30-second spot will run on all major broadcast video-on-demand (BVOD) platforms, Netflix, cinema, Twitch, TikTok, and Snap until 30 April.

Netflix does not currently offer any targeting for advertisers on its new ad-funded tier, so the Irn-Bru campaign will run across its entire portfolio where “the majority of its content is made up of entertainment and programming that indexes well for Gen-Z audience”.

In cinemas, the ad will appear against “young-skewing films” such as Ant-Man and The Wasp Quantumania, Creed III, and Shazam.

Ben Richardson, AV lead at the7stars, said: “Both the creative and media execution is tailored to the humour and media habits of Scotland’s youth audiences, and we can’t wait to see the results.”

Creative was by the Leith Agency.