Belgian brewer Stella Artois is running a viral campaign channeling retro modernism and 1960s chic to communicate current concerns about the environment and promote its use of recycled material.  The campaign is extensive, creating a mock 1960s French TV variety show called “Le Recyclage de Luxe” with an obvious painstaking effort at authenticity.  In-fact remove the currency of the subject matter, subtle Stella branding and recognizable artists such as Florence + The Machine as special guests, and the footage could be exactly the archival material it s pretending to be.  There s even enough material to fill a complete show, with a 15-minute segment launching the concept and a half-dozen shorter clips.  The message is that Stella Artois is using 100 percent recycled paper, 75 percent recycled glass and 50 percent recycled aluminum in packaging its beer.  There is irony in an overproduced campaign promoting recycled material, but given the project’s philosophical depth who is to say that isn’t intentional.

The two-minute short Utopia gets to the core of the concept; watch it at YouTube {link no longer active}.

You can read more about the campaign at Fast Company {link no longer active}.

The campaign has an official Le Recyclage de Luxe Show YouTube channel.