With Irish actor Paul Mescal very much in the news at the moment for his role in Gladiator II, Lidl Ireland and Droga5 Dublin dipped into the guerilla marketing playbook to acknowledge his rapidly growing Hollywood status while at the same time highlighting the retailer’s famed “middle aisle”.
According to the retailer, its middle aisle has championed lookalikes for a long time whether they are air fryers and wetsuits or angle grinders and juicers. A “Middle Aisle Mescal” was an obvious choice for the retailer.
Orchestrated by Droga5 Dublin, part of Accenture Song, unbranded posters popped up around Dublin city overnight alongside an anonymous TikTok account, instructing Mescalikes to meet and compete. Intentionally, the event aligned just ahead of Mescal’s appearance at the Irish premiere for Gladiator II.
The result, according to Droga5 was “a brilliant, culture-led idea emerged, executed on TikTok with a simple lo-fi poster, the unofficial promise of a true Paul sighting and an audience of super PAUL fans – all without spending a single cent on media.”
In response, crowds of Dubliners showed up donning shorts and Mescal’s iconic chain. To their delight, Lidl revealed themselves as the masterminds behind the event with ‘Middle Aisle Mescal’ stickers, vouchers and a comically large €20 cheque for the wi
The event took off on social media, drawing global attention across the press, TikTok, Instagram, X and Reddit with the winner being invited for appearances on Irish TV. Even Paul Mescal himself approved saying “They got the spirit of it”.
“We’re known for our charmingly cheeky sense of humour and high-quality brand inspired products,” says Conor Barron, digital marketing manager, Lidl Ireland. “As big fans of Paul Mescal ourselves, we couldn’t resist taking this opportunity to promote the unique talent we have here in Ireland and we were delighted to officially award Jack with the prize – we hope he spends it wisely in Lidl!”
“When we won Lidl’s digital and social business earlier this year they gave us a clear ambition: make Lidl the most talked about brand in Ireland and we use this as the North Star for all our work,” adds Sarah-Jane Lowes, head of digital and social, Droga5 Dublin.
“This project was as fun to work on as the event itself and it clearly shows. And there is nothing more infectious than that type of energy. This campaign was equal parts smart and silly and that is what made it successful. When you pair a client as creatively ambitious as Lidl and a team as culturally obsessed as we are, magic happens.”
And the winner was. Jack Wall O’Reilly.
“It’s a real honour to be officially crowned The Paul Mescal lookalike,” he says. “Never in a million years did I think I’d reach the final let alone win. I would like to thank Paul for being such an inspiration to me over the years, what he’s achieved has been really incredible, as well as Lidl selecting me as the winner. I’m off to spend my winnings in Lidl of course!”
CREDITS:
Agency: Droga5 Dublin, part of Accenture Song
Lidl Senior Digital Marketing Manager:Conor Barron
Lidl Digital Content Manager: Jodie Knight
Marketing Director, Lidl Ireland and Lidl Northern Ireland: Fiona Fagan
Chief Creative Officer: Jen Speirs
Head of Digital & Social: Sarah Jane Lowes
Creative Director: Carina Caye
Strategy Lead: Georgia Murphy
Strategy Director: Lorna Tutty
Creative Strategist: Ananya Varma
Art Director: Colm Halpin and Jessica Newman
Copywriter: Niamh Aremband and Jess Murphy
Account Director: James D. Moore
Account Manager: Steven Nagle
