San Miguel is returning to Wetherspoons pubs after a two-year absence from the taps, and the brand is marking its comeback with what it calls a final 'towel dash' of the summer.
The beer brand, which cites YouGov statistics naming it Britain's most popular Spanish beer, says it is not quite ready to say goodbye to summer. To celebrate its return to the pub chain, San Miguel is recreating the familiar holiday ritual of reserving a sunbed with a towel.
From midday this week, the first customers at three Wetherspoons locations will be met by holiday-style attendants offering a complimentary pint of San Miguel. Participants will also receive a limited-edition San Miguel towel, although the brand has confirmed supplies will be short. Customers who bring their own towel will still be in with a chance of getting a free pint.
The three venues hosting the towel dash are London's The Sir Alexander Fleming on Thursday, September 5, Birmingham's Figure of Eight on Friday, September 6, and Manchester's Paramount on Saturday, September 7.
Ed Hussey, senior brand manager at San Miguel UK, said: "When San Miguel left Wetherspoons, Britain made it pretty clear that they wanted us to return. So we wanted to make our comeback feel like something worth celebrating and the towel dash felt like the perfect way to do it. It's one of those brilliantly British holiday rituals that everyone knows and we're bringing it to the local, with a San Miguel in hand. Because the Spanish summer doesn't have to end just because the holidays do."
The campaign is set to culminate in a rooftop party at the Queen of Hoxton bar in East London to mark 'San Miguel Day' on September 29. Guests who arrive with one of the San Miguel towels will receive complimentary entry and a free ice-cold San Miguel.
San Miguel says the campaign is designed to encourage people to hold on to the holiday feeling for longer, suggesting that summer is a state of mind rather than a season tied to annual leave or a flight to Spain.