The King of Cannes - is it a Kiwi?

Stella Artois has launched a global advertising and social media campaign to support its sponsorship of the 2010 Cannes Film Festival, strengthening the brand’s ties with cinema, the glamorous French Riviera and further developing the story of the legendary character at the heart of its program, Jacques d’Azur, the ‘King of Cannes’.

Cannes, held every May, is the world’s most glamorous film festival, attracting the A-list of global cinema, and at the heart of the Stella Artois campaign is a competition to win a taste of the VIP Riviera lifestyle. Stella Artois Global Marketing Manager Alexander Lambrecht says “The Cannes Film Festival is both the epitome of Riviera glamour and the home of world’s best cinema so it fits in perfectly with Stella Artois’ tradition and appreciation for perfection and beauty.”

With its Cannes campaign, Stella Artois is giving consumers the chance to experience the true life of Jacques d’Azur. However, Jacques d’Azur himself won’t be going to the Cannes festival this year: he is missing, presumed dead, after his luxury yacht disappeared. What’s the good news? You can go in his place. His last will and testament included an heir to his lavish weekend at the Cannes Film Festival, but the name of the rightful heir on the will is illegible. An extensive global search is under way to find the rightful heir to take Jacques d’Azur’s place at this year’s film festival – could it be a New Zealander?

The global competition winner will be immersed in 1960s glamour, from business travel and a personal chauffeur, to five-star accommodation and a bespoke tailored suit for their attendance at the star-studded film premieres and hence experiencing the true life of Jacques d’Azur.

Stella Artois is eager to find Jacques d’Azur’s heir before the launch of the festival, and is using a range of social media to conduct an exhaustive search. To find out if you are the heir to Jacques d’Azur’s VIP weekend in Cannes go to www.stellaartois.com  before April 25th, 2010, or find out more about Jacques d’Azur’s legendary lifestyle on Twitter https://twitter.com/LifeofJacques, Flickr http://www.flickr.com/photos/lifeofjacques/ and Facebook http://www.facebook.com/JacquesdAzur/

In addition to the global winner of Jacques d’Azur’s lavish VIP weekend, Stella Artois is also sending 10 Kiwis to the Cannes Film Festival as part of a consumer promotion that has been running in bars and restaurants nationwide.

The Jacques d’Azur promotion runs until 23rd April, 2010. The promoter is Anheuser-Busch InBev.