Kopparberg Shines with its 5-Star Summer Campaign
Along with an increasing number of heatwaves, British summer brings with it plenty of festivals, sporting events and outdoor gatherings. And as summer is peak cider season in the UK, it’s the perfect time for the Independently owned Swedish brewery Kopparberg to promote its portfolio.
Kopparberg and agency partner Neverland developed “Bring Me Sunshine” rooted in a key consumer insight. Many Gen Z people feel expected to follow trends despite different interests and preferences, even down to what they order at the bar.
Rather than portray the category’s typical cliché of blue skies, beaches and pools, the advert challenges conformity and puts a new spin on the meaning of sunshine with everyday moments made special through togetherness and originality.
Reminiscent of a music video, the film is accompanied by a Joy Anonymous track that’s co-produced by Fred Again. A man travels the streets of London with a large disco ball, catching plenty of stares and smiles, as well as the bus. At the conclusion, he joins his friends at a party and opens a Kopparberg.
“Bring Me Sunshine’ is about moving away from the polished and cliché’d version of summer that dominates our category and focusing on something that feels more real and authentic. For us, sunshine is the people who bring energy, originality and positivity to the world around them,” said Rob Salvesen, Head of Marketing, Kopparberg UK.
As Kopparberg prepared to launch its biggest national campaign to date, work designed to stand out in a sea of sameness, the team looked to System1 for ad testing support. Would this new route resonate with consumers?
System1’s Test Your Ad platform predicts the commercial potential of the creative by measuring consumers’ emotional responses to advertising, both the type of emotion and the intensity.
System1 delivers three key metrics: the Star Rating predicts long-term brand-building potential; the Spike Rating predicts short-term effects (website visits, QR code scans, sales, etc.); and the Fluency Rating signals the strength of brand recognition.
In March 2026, Kopparberg tested a 30-second animatic. It scored 3.7 Stars, more than a half Star above the category average for Beer, Cider and FMBs. In addition to strong long-term potential, the animatic landed a strong Spike Rating.
In April, the next round of testing for the draft film delivered an even higher result. The Star rating increased to 4.7 Stars and Spike maintained its strong score. In addition to the core metrics, System1’s Test Your Ad Pro report revealed deeper insight into how people felt about the work, the reasons behind their emotional response, and a closer look at Types of Happiness, Key Associations and Salesmanship vs. Showmanship Features. The qualitative findings paired with quantitative metrics that are easy to understand and compare from report to report gave the teams a comprehensive assessment of the creative’s emotional resonance and in-market potential.
From there, Kopparberg and Neverland further finetuned the color grading and sound and made minor adjustments to the narrative flow and distinctive brand assets.
The finished film scored 5.0 Stars in System1’s testing, 1.9-Stars above the category average. This score puts Kopparberg in the top 2% of the category (ranking #8) in System1’s Test Your Ad Competitive Edge database.
In addition to scoring exceptional on long-term brand-building potential, Kopparberg also scored in the top 25% of the category for short-term sales potential and above the category average on brand recognition.
The “Bring Me Sunshine” campaign runs across TV, social, streaming, out-of-home and in-store, featuring high-impact displays, refreshed packaging, on-pack Bring Me Sunshine messaging and more. Notably, Kopparberg’s out-of-home creative scored 5-Stars in testing with System1’s Test Your Ad Outdoor platform, a full 2.5 Stars above the UK average.
“This campaign is all about building visibility and consumer engagement during the critical summer months,” added Salvesen. “The insights provided by System1 helped us move from 3-Star to 5-Star territory, giving us greater confidence in this new direction and setting us up for strong commercial results – In the weeks that the campaign ran, Kopparberg saw 12.1% YoY growth in value in retail*.”
"This campaign is all about building visibility and consumer engagement during the critical summer months. The insights provided by System1 helped us move from 3-Star to 5-Star territory, giving us greater confidence in this new direction and setting us up for strong commercial results."
Rob Salvesen Head of Marketing, Kopparberg UK
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