Picture this: Auckland 1957. New Zealand is facing an economic crisis. The finance minister tables his so-called black budget, outlining devastating cuts to international beer imports. He then issues a challenge to the nation's brewers. The country needs someone with three things: a beer recipe, some barley and a dream. Fifty years later, homegrown beer brand, Steinlager, is prepping a major summer marketing push in the United States. Advertising is required.

"I'm trying to think of stereotypes we could've reinforced about New Zealanders," says Randy Krallman, who directed the spots for Steinlager's new online campaign. "Well, we didn't show them fucking any sheep and there was no rugby, so I think we did OK."

Krallman's omission of stereotypes like big-breasted women emerging from a magical fridge and jostling for the affections of a dimwit with a flatulence problem is commendable in an age when boobyish antics dominate American beer advertising. How then does an ad agency take the high road for a beer campaign and still keep it funny?

The answer is Win Nick's Life. The contest, created by droga5, will give one American the opportunity to take over the life of a fictional Steinlager employee named Nick. Four main spots on the campaign website, WinNicksLife.com, tell the story of Pete, the hucksterish Steinlager CEO who's a little too excited by his own idea to exchange Nick, a sunny-faced schlep, for an American. Other spots introduce contest entrants to Nick's parents and girlfriend, who are similarly elated by the prospect of a replacement son and boyfriend.

Before the July 18 deadline, entrants can upload videos, explaining why they are "less rubbish" than Nick, to win a prize that includes a one-month stay in New Zealand in a furnished apartment plus a $5,000 "salary" from Steinlager. Contest and prize aside, the character-driven campaign stands out thanks to its funny and relatable cast.

"A lot of beer brands come from different countries and will try to say, 'We're the spirit of Mexico,' or 'the spirit of Ireland'," says Ted Royer, executive creative director at droga5. "Instead of saying, 'We're the spirit of New Zealand', we wanted to create characters that embodied the fun of New Zealand."

The contest idea was hatched when the client, emphasizing the importance of the American launch, mentioned that a marketing guy would travel to New York to personally oversee the promotional roll-out. Royer was immediately taken with Steinlager's wide-eyed optimism and can-do attitude. "So we thought, why not replace him with an American?"

With budget constraints ruling out television, the campaign was conceived as 12 webisodes of varying lengths, with fully-developed characters and a Kiwi sense of humor, combining dry, sophisticated English wit with balls-in-your-face Aussie punch lines. The client loved the idea, Royer says, but insisted that the creatives not depict New Zealanders in a condescending manner.

"We're not trying to hide the brand," says agency producer Thomas Beug. "It's a traditional, hard-sell campaign that we undercut with a cheerful, piss-taking tone. It's like a mock epic with really average people living in these spectacular landscapes."

To capture the appropriate feel, droga5 recruited Smuggler's Randy Krallman, who previously helmed the agency's Air Force One viral hoax for Ecko, and set about casting in Auckland, Wellington and Sydney, Australia.

"The characters were so spelled out, so crystal clear that in casting you could easily separate who got it and who didn't," says Krallman. "Usually scripts come in overwritten and this immediately appealed to me because it was so developed - there were awkward silences between lines at a level where a good actor could work with them. We didn't really do much improv, except to solve a problem here or there."

Having spent a lot of time on the script, the creatives knew exactly what they wanted in casting. Phil Peleton nailed the part of Pete the CEO, while the roles of Nick's parents went to seasoned Kiwi stage performers, Ross Jolly and Susan Wilson. It was particularly important that Nick's girlfriend, Emma, appeal to men and women, appearing flirtatious but not coming off like a bimbo, says Krallman. The part went to Australian actress Krew Boylan, who turned Emma into arguably the funniest character in the campaign.

Although the scripts were tightly written, there was room for what Royer calls "discovered moments". In "Emma", when Emma introduces viewers to her "super-hot friends" - including Kim, a yoga instructor and deep-tissue massage therapist - subtle tension arises as she realizes her girlfriends might undermine her. Right before the scene ends, the awkwardness is dispersed when a female voice in the background screams, "Stop touching me!"

Each of the four main spots is accompanied by at least one blip - an extended scene starring the supporting cast that is uncovered when viewers roll the mouse over background images on the site. One character with a lot of blip-time is Ben, a Samoan Steinlager employee. The actor, Ben Baker, was initially hired as Royer and Beug's driver. He was cast in the spots because his character meshed with the rapport that developed among the cast members.

"We loved his personality because he was just this guy that was always giving people advice, like 'The universe will take care of you man, it's great'. But it was like this weird, passive-aggressive advice. He's saying the universe will take care of you because he wants you to know that he's more chill than you," says Royer. "That's a complex character that wouldn't come across in a typical TV spot, but hopefully can start to come across here."

droga5 http://www.droga5.com
Smuggler http://www.smugglersite.com
Win Nick's Life http://www.winnickslife.com