Stella Artois enlisted soccer legend David Beckham as its brand ambassador as it seeks growth around the world with a new platform. 

Beckham stars in a commercial that will be part of a yearlong campaign for the Anheuser-Busch InBev brand and introduces the slogan, “Worth More.” 

The new tagline builds on the well-known and long-running Stella Artois campaign, “Reassuringly Expensive,” which boasted of the lager’s higher price to demonstrate its distinctive quality and taste compared to other beers.  

With “Reassuringly Expensive,” Stella Artois helped define marketing for the international premium beer segment. But premium brands must now communicate in a slightly different way that emphasizes qualities such as experience and taste over price, said Tim Ovadia, global vice president of marketing for Stella Artois, AB InBev. 

“Being ‘premium’ is no longer just about the price tag. Brands now have to prove their worth to consumers at both an emotional and functional level,” Ovadia said in a statement. 

The commercial with Beckham has a playful tone that pokes fun at the megastar’s status. It begins with him sitting at a bar and noticing a group of friends looking in his direction. 

When one of the women approaches the bar and touches his arm, Beckham assumes she’s a fan about to praise him or ask for a photo. Instead, he’s just in her way as she reaches for two pints of Stella Artois to bring back to her group. 

“Emotionally, the brand point of view in the world is that there’s nothing more valuable, nothing worth more than the moments when we connect in a genuine way with our friends,” Ovadia continued. 

Betting on premium

“Worth More” will help drive Stella Artois’ “ambitious growth target” this year, Ovadia told ADWEEK. Stella aims to build on its 18.8% growth outside its home market of Belgium for the 2023 financial year, according to the brand.

Globally, premium products (lagers with 4.5% alcohol by volume or above) are fueling growth in the beer sector. Last year, AB InBev’s Budweiser forecast that 70% of total beer consumption would be in the premium or super-premium category by 2025, per Mark Wingfield Digby, off-trade sales director at the brand. 

With the appointment of Beckham as ambassador, “This is a big moment for the Stella Artois brand that we believe can kick off a powerful wave of growth around the world,” Richard Oppy, vp of global brands at AB InBev, said in a statement.