Description
We’ve all been sent voice notes that - instead of offering a quick update - turn into miniature podcasts lasting what seems like forever. In the increasingly digital world we live in, voice notes are turning into yet another distraction that encourages us to bury our heads in our smartphones rather than making real life connections. Now Heineken®, the champion of IRL socialising, has launched new WhatsApp technology that offers an ingenious incentive to those who’d prefer to meet up and connect face-to-face, bringing back the art of in person conversation.
Ideated by creative agencies LePub Milan and Sao Paulo, the technology has been launched as a pilot in Brazil, where official data from META shows that Brazilians send four times as many voice notes than people in any other country. The tech was devised after global research polling 14,000 respondents showed that in just one year, the average person spends almost 150 hours a year sending and receiving voice notes.
Not only are people spending a significant amount of time listening to voice notes, but they are impacting real-life social interactions too. Over half (52%) of those polled feel voice notes are replacing IRL interactions, rising to 60% amongst Gen Z. Nearly half (49%), meanwhile, admit to spending entire evenings sending voice notes to a friend instead of meeting in-person, even though 54% say they have their most fulfilling conversations face-to-face.
Global data and business intelligence platform Statista reported, in groundbreaking new data, that 9.4 billion WhatsApp voice notes are now sent every day (equivalent to about 3.4 trillion over the full year). When compared to 2024, their frequency has increased by 7%, and in length by 8%.
The campaign rolls out first in Brazil, backed by bold OOH executions and dynamic social activations that bring the idea to life across multiple touchpoints and root it in local culture. At the heart of the work is a simple but powerful concept: turning overly long voice notes, one of today’s most universal digital habits, into a playful nudge that gets people off their phones and back into real conversations. With additional global markets set to follow in the coming months, the rollout proves the scalability of a creative idea that uses technology not to replace interaction, but to inspire people to reconnect.
This professional campaign titled 'Could Have Been a Heineken' was published in Brazil and Italy in December, 2025. It was created for the brand: Heineken, by ad agencies: LePub Milan and LePub Sao Paulo. This Integrated medium campaign is related to the Alcoholic Drinks industry and contains 6 media assets. It was submitted about 1 hour ago.
Credits
Heineken Global
Head of Global Heineken® Brand: Nabil Nasser
Heineken® Global Communication Director: Dana Katz
Heineken® Global Communication Manager: Nalini Bhagwandin
Heineken® Global Communication Manager: Alessandra Cavarra
Heineken® Head of Brand & Consumer PR: Jonathan O’Lone
Heineken® Brand Global PR Lead: Joey Brophy
Heineken Brazil
Heineken® VP Marketing: Cecilia Bottai Mondino
Heineken® Sr Director Heineken BU: Eduardo Picarelli
Heineken® Brand Director: Igor de Castro
Heineken® Brand Manager: Williane Vieira
Heineken® Brand Analyst: Giullia Gonçalves
Heineken® Consumer Connections Director: Fernanda Saboya
Heineken® Consumer Connections Manager: Luiza Agostini
Heineken® Media Specialist: Maria Rivaz
Heineken® Sr Manager Corporate Comms: Rafael Golfe
Heineken® Corporate Comms Coordinator: Karina Otsubo
Heineken® Sr Manager Brand PR & Influencer: Adriana Teixeira
Heineken® Manager Brand PR & Influencer: Camille Nunes
Heineken® Digital & Data: Eduardo Paiva
Heineken® Digital & Data: Stefanny Jeronimo
Heineken® Trade Marketing Manager: William Mazzucatto
LePub Milan
Global CEO LePub, CCO LePub Worldwide: Bruno Bertelli
Global Chief Creative Officer: Cristiana Boccassini
Global Chief Creative Officer: Mihnea Gheorghiu
Executive Creative Director: Gaston Soto
Executive Creative Director: Jack Smedley
Creative Director: Silvia Oton
Creative Director: Andrea Afeltra
Associate Creative Director: Valentino Borghesi
Head of Art: Andrea Ferlauto
Senior Designer: Fabio Iacomino
Junior Designer: Daria Guseva
Copywriter: Alessandro Traverso
Art Director: Vincenzo Russo
Head of Digital Production: Vittorio Cafiero
Global Head of Creative Technology: Mauro Mazzei
Global Head of PR & Communication: Isabella Cecconi
Senior PR Manager: Eleonora Botta
Head of Strategy: James Moore
Head of Content: Manuela Rossi
Global Client Service Director: Shirine Aoun
Global Client Service Director: Ilaria Castiglioni
Global Account Director: Gonzalo Gutierrez
Global Account Manager: Candida Franchi
Global Account Executive: Marta Sartorio
Chief Production Officer: Francesca Zazzera
Producer: Cinzia Morandi
Junior Producer: Arianna Pellegrini
Motion Designer: Dario Lipani
Editor: Andrea Besana
Editor: Roberto Bella
Colorist: Claudio Beltrami
Music: Audio Network
Music Consultant: Massimo Giordani
LePub Sao Paulo
CSO & Partner: Aldo Pini
COO: Aline Garcia
CCO: Laura Esteves
Executive Creative Director: Greg Kickow e Rafael Alves
Creative Director: Yan Prado e Leandro Vilas
Associate Creative Director: Caio Lima
Copywriter: Victor Sotero
Art Director: Arthur Mourão e Samoel Junqueira
Account Director: Juliana Dantas
Account Manager: Marina Roge e Lucas Araque
Account Supervisor: Marcella Marigo
Account Executive: Rayani Tobias
Account Assistant: João Vitor Paixão
Creative Production Director: Caio Rodrigues e Mariana Hermeto
Creative Producer: Bea Brandão, Fernanda Ceratti, Camila Guedes, Yuri Westermann e
Gustavo Hessel
Content Director: Dayana Teixeira
Content Manager: Thais Vargas
Content Supervisor: Karina Silva
Community Manager: Thais Montenegro
Strategy Director: Marília Duran
Strategy Manager: Estela De Luca e Bruna Coelho
Media Director: Priscilla Leite
Media Manager: Jussara Bezerra e Gustavo Cardoso
Media Supervisor: Lucas Gimenez, Raquel Lopes e Carla Tassi
Media Assistant: Eric Bueno e João Marinho
Executive Business Intelligence Director: Jessica Nahal
Business Intelligence Manager: Gabriela Jung
Business Intelligence Supervisor: Maiara Amaral
Chief Communications Officer: Paula Ganem
Communications Manager: Mafê Malozzi
The Romans (PR strategy and global coordination)
Managing Director: Kate Brazier
Executive Creative Director: Dan Roberts
Creative Director: Jordan Kavanagh
Senior Associate Director: Liam O’Brien
Senior Account Director: Sarah Jones
Account Director: Maddie Pay
Senior Account Manager: Leigh Brian
Account Manager: Tom Phillips
Account Executive: Amelia Pia
Account Executive: Rebecca Kapoor
Assistant Account Executive: Abbie Goodman
Lema+
CO-Founder & CEO: Leandro Matulja
CO-Founder & COOPRESS LEMA: Leticia Zioni
Partner & CCO: Gui Maia
Account Manager: Maria Puebla
Services and Project Manager: Felipe Klingelhoefer
Creative Strategy Manager: Felipe Vaitsman
Creative Strategy Coordinator: Sidney de Oliveira
Creative Copywriter: Thales Ferreira
Creative Art Director: Daniel Magalhães
Community & Influencer Coordinator: Gabriela Rossi
Community & Influencer Specialist : Maiara Vieira
Press Officer Manager: Luís Dolci
Press Coordinator: Letícia Saraiva
Press Officer: Isabella Gomes
Press Officer: Mayara Grosso
Press Officer Assistant: Fernando Bocardo
Dentsu Creative
Executive Business Director: Caroline Bassi
Media Director: Raphael Cunha
Media Manager: Marcelo Barbosa
Business Manager: Ana Carla Melo Sartori
Business Supervisor: Julia Santos
Media Supervisor: Jullyana Ferreira
Media Senior Analyst: Maria Eduarda Custodio
Circulo CRM
Business Manager: Camila Moura
Copywriter: Marina Costa
Designer: Polyana Tarquinio
Senior strategist: Nathalia Farkas
Senior analyst : Otávio Ikegami
Marketing Cloud Analyst: Joice Felix
Data Analyst: Paulo Bani
Desenvolvimento Tecnológico: PLUGH
