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I came across this interesting item on ebay – a Beatles/Heineken tie in:

Since it’ll eventually disappear, here’s the description:

FOR SALE HERE ARE:

2 BEATLES HEINEKEN CANS (ONE LARGE, ONE SMALL, BOTH EMPTY), ONE CARDBOARD TRAY, ONE PAGE ORIGINAL NEWSPAPER AD, AND TWO COPIES OF THE TAPE (NORMAL ISSUE AND ‘VARIANT’.

 

“Only The Beatles …” 

The Heineken Lager Beer / EMI Promotion 1986

© 2014 Garry Marsh / Beatle Daze Archives^TM

In late June 1986 EMI Parlophone in the UK, apparently, put together a Beatles promotion along with Heineken Lager Beer, after some seventeen months of discussion and bargaining. This was highly unusual for the fact that The Beatles have never loaned their name for advertising purposes, other than for their own products. There are though documented instances of ‘subliminal advertising’: a picture of them collecting for Oxfam with one Jeffery Archer, a picture of them drinking Pepsi Cola, a picture of their faces superimposed on four apples promoting fruit / healthy eating, a picture of them boarding a BEAtles plane etc.

Paul Watts of Stilletto, a music consultant company, was quoted at the time saying:

“This is the biggest deal of its kind that’s ever been done in the UK in terms of music sponsorship and premiums.”

He also went to great pains to point out that all the parties involved were anxious not to be seen to be ‘ripping-off’ The Beatles. On the contrary it was believed that the promotion would add to the Beatles’ legend!

“The crucial factor behind this deal is ensuring that the integrity of The Beatles’ catalogue is maintained.”

There was no mention whatsoever of the amount paid by Heineken for this opportunity to cash in on the Beatles, but it must have been a great deal for such a great deal! (Pun intended.)

So, at that time, local off-licences, supermarkets, Victoria Wine shops and other assorted outlets started to sell up to 35 million specially printed cans of Heineken Lager Beer which featured a red triangular banner across the top that said “The Beatles – A Unique Cassette”, in white, bold capitals. Around the bottom of the cans, the Beatles’ first names, (JOHN, PAUL, GEORGE, RINGO repeated four times) were printed in capitals, in white on a red background, circling the entire can. The cans themselves came in two sizes; 275ml and 440ml. The cans were transported and displayed in an open cardboard tray, about 2.5 inches deep, which held 24cans. This cardboard tray carried the same design as the cans, the red triangular banner, on two sides.

By sending in four of the special ring pulls from the cans and a crossed postal order or cheque for £2.99 (£2.49 + 50p P&P) made payable to ‘Heineken Beatles Offer’, consumers received a special copy of a unique EMI compilation cassette entitled ‘Only the Beatles …’ (Parlophone / Stiletto SMMC 151). Initially over 100,000 copies of the cassette were manufactured for the offer. You could apply as many times as you liked, remembering that ‘this album is not available in the shops’. You had to allow 28 days for delivery and the offer was open to UK Heineken drinkers over 18 years of age. The offer ended June 30^th 1987. You could use the enclosed Heineken gift card to send another copy of the tape to a friend,

The address to send to was:

Fab Four Offer,

FREEPOST,

PO Box 456,

London

W6 9HQ.

 

The cassette tape featured twelve songs from 1962-1967;

Side One:

Love Me Do ,

Twist And Shout ,

She Loves You ,

This Boy ,

Eight Days A Week ,

All My Loving ,

Side Two:

Ticket To Ride ,

Yes It Is ,

Ob-La-Di Ob-La-Da,

Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds ,

And I Love Her ,

Strawberry Fields Forever ,

Included on the tape were “previously unreleased stereo versions” of ‘This Boy ’ and ‘Yes It Is ’.

 

Some of the tapes had the song ‘Ticket To Ride ‘ at the end of side one and at the start of side two. I have copies of both the regular issue and the ‘variant’.

This cassette only compilation, ‘Only The Beatles …’ was (P) & © 1986 for Stiletto Limited, 122 Holland Park Avenue, London W11 4UA, with the ‘project realisation’ by Paul Watts (Stiletto) and Norman Bates (EMI).

There were advertisements produced for daily newspapers, and reel-to-reel tape advertisement for local commercial radio stations.

This was the first, and only, time that a special packaging of Beatles songs was ever issued for the promotion of a commercial product.

The first cassettes were sent out July 1st 1986.

On Friday 18th July Apple Corps issued a writ against Whitbread and Co PLC, the owners of the Heineken brand, stating that they were marketing Beatles music without Apple’s permission. Apple claimed not to know anything about the deal, until they read about it in the press!

An Apple spokesperson was quoted as saying:

“We knew nothing about EMI’s scheme with Heineken until then. Our lawyers contacted them and asked them to desist and they refused. We do no think this is any way for a reputable British company to behave.”

Apple was apparently informed early on in the negotiations, but chose not to make any comment. Perhaps they weren’t actually listening! In any case EMI then chose to carry on with the deal.

I seem to remember reading, much later, the odd line in the daily papers about the whole project being brought to halt within the first six months. I didn’t really care I already had my copies, my empty cans, a full can, cardboard trays, the newspaper advert (dated August 2nd) and the radio reel-to-reel etc. I also remember hearing about a warehouse, somewhere in London, where the tapes were ‘dumped’ after the authorisation problems! Once again I am sure that one of our readers knows a bit more about this; one of you, out there, bought the lot and have been selling them off ever since……and why not…..a very good investment. 

I do remember also being at the 1986 Beatles Convention, in Liverpool, over the August Bank Holiday, marketing my computer adventure game BEATLE QUEST, and having an empty can on my stall for sale at 50p (as a joke folks!). A Japanese gentleman attempted to pay me £50 for it, where-upon I informed him that he could buy a full one around the corner from the Adelphi Hotel for about 57p. I was surprised by some of the dealers there who said I should have taken the guy’s money! I hope he went and bought himself one, didn’t open it, and took it back to the Land of the Rising Sun for a place in his Beatles collection.

Anyway the cassette, and inserts, along with an original can (still full, if possible!), cardboard shop trays, newspaper advert, and reel-to-reel radio advert, and all associated shop counter displays, is now almost impossible to find as a set, and is estimated to be worth anything from £400-£500 (unless you know different?) for a combination of the above items.

© 2014 Garry Marsh / Beatle Daze Archives^TM

parlance

If I’d gotten a can, I’d definitely hang on to it. I have a couple of interesting bottles/cans from trips to London, including the limited and very interesting foray into orange-flavored Coke.

parlance