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Stella Artois has apparently called off plans to run an unofficial brand experience on Electronic Arts’ gaming platform The Sims 4 after being approached by legal counsel from the makers of the game over IP infringement.
According to EA, its lawyers have approached AB InBev, the owner of Stella Artois, about its plans to launch a new mod (extension) for the game that would have furthered the Belgian beer brand’s “Unfiltered” campaign. The mod would have recreated the scene from its “Beer, au Naturel” TV ad from last summer featuring a naked waiter delivering beers to a group of equally naked French villagers.
The mod itself would have seen the gamer play as the waiter, who would then be able to interact with other nude Sims characters around the virtual village.
Players would also have been able to download a Stella Artois Unfiltered Chalice, an Unfiltered bottle and a branded beer tap. These have been made by content creator Hey Harrie, as well as a number of naked characters based on the ad.
As part of the promotion of the mod, the beer had partnered with gaming influencer Devon Bumpkin to stream his experience of playing it live for others to watch. This was set to take place on Feb. 8—the day of the launch—however Bumpkin’s Twitch schedule no longer displays the event.
There is also no mention of the project on any of Stella Artois’ U.K. social media platforms, despite extensive PR distribution of the campaign sent the week prior to the planned launch.
AB InBev have not yet responded to Adweek’s request for comment.
In a statement announcing the release of the mod, Meg Chadwick, brand manager for Stella Artois, commented: “Having brought the ‘Beer, au Naturel’ message to life in our ATL campaigns, we’re so excited to be able to give gamers the opportunity to experience our naturally unfiltered beer in a virtual world. Now they, too, can be as naked as the beer we’ve created.”
A promotion had also been set to run for Stella Artois Unfiltered lager from Feb. 8-14 across the U.K.
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