Description
Heineken® this week launches Fans Have More Friends, a new global sponsorship platform built on the belief that fandom is one of the quickest ways to spark a connection between strangers.
Rooted in Heineken®’s long-standing belief in the importance of sociability, and inspired by the book of the same name (Fans Have More Friends) by Ben Valenta and David Sikorjak, the platform reflects how shared passions help people connect naturally. It’s the first time Heineken® is bringing together its sponsorships across football, Formula 1® and music festivals, using fandom as both a social catalyst and a way to elevate social experiences in a world that can feel increasingly lonely.
New research commissioned by Heineken® shows that three-quarters (75%) of fans say their fandom has helped them meet new people, making it one of the fastest ways to create bonds at a time when many people are missing IRL connections more than ever before.
Three in five (59%) say it's helped them forge some of their closest friendships and 75% say watching sports with other fans, even if they're not fans of the same team, makes the experience better. Football topped the list as one of the greatest social connectors with 72% of fans saying language is not a barrier when it comes to making football mates in a bar.
To put the findings to the test, Heineken® partnered with Zac Alsop to carry out a social experiment designed to test whether fans would really show up for one another when it mattered. The experiment followed Joe, an Australian living in New York, who found himself without anyone to watch Liverpool play Qarabağ FK in the final group match of the UEFA Champions League. Like many people, despite having a life and routine in a big city, he was facing the prospect of watching one of football’s biggest nights alone.
To help his friend and prove that fandom is a great way to connect, Zac handed out flyers across Manhattan with Joe's face and a simple request - Have A Beer With Me - inviting fellow fans to join him to watch the match on January 28th. No incentives - just an open invitation to the football community.
Fans from across New York responded in droves, with hundreds turning up to support a fellow fan they had never met before, and the event quickly gained traction across social media.
Unbeknownst to Joe, Heineken® transformed Central Park Tavern, where the meet up took place, into a Champions League-level viewing experience, flying in the UEFA Champions League trophy alongside football legend Bastian Schweinsteiger who was behind the bar serving beers for fans who made the effort to come.
The experiment in New York kicks off a multi-channel platform launch by Heineken®, which sees the Fans Have More Friends television ad debut this week in the USA, with a further 50 markets to follow.
The campaign TVC, directed by multi-award-winning director Frederik Bond and produced by Stink Films, celebrates the spontaneous friendships that spark between fans every time a game, a match or a gig is on. Featuring Heineken®’s most renowned brand ambassadors, including Max Verstappen, Virgil van Dijk and DJ Martin Garrix, the film captures the essence of fans coming together, depicting famous faces, among others, bonding over a shared passion for sport and music.
The platform will continue to roll out throughout 2026 with 360 assets and at key moments in the football, F1® and music calendar, including the UEFA Champions League Final, UEFA Women’s Champions League Final, Coachella and Grand Prix weekends worldwide.
This professional campaign titled 'Fans Have More Friends' was published in United States in January, 2026. It was created for the brand: Heineken, by ad agency: LePub. This Film and Integrated media campaign is related to the Alcoholic Drinks industry and contains 1 media asset. It was submitted about 19 hours ago.
Credits
HEINEKEN®
Head of Global Heineken® Brand: Nabil Nasser
Global Sponsorship Communication Director: Els Dijkhuizen
Global Communication Director: Dana Katz
Global Communication Manager: Yoann Hellot
Head of Digital Advertising: Bram Reukers
Digital Manager: Larissa Koper
Digital Innovation Manager: Jared Martinez Alejo
Head of Brand & Consumer PR: Jonathan O’Lone
Brand Global PR Lead: Joey Brophy
Global Head of BTL Marketing: Rutger Van Der Stegen
Global Media Lead: Mariana Goes
Global Sponsorship Director: Roeslan Danoekoesoemo
Global Sponsorship Manager: Annamaria Füzy
LEPUB
Global CEO, Chief Creative Officer Worldwide: Bruno Bertelli
Global Chief Creative Officer: Cristiana Boccassini
Global Chief Creative Officer: Mihnea Gheorghiu
Creative Director: Giulia Trimarchi
Creative Director: Gian Marco Panichelli
Social & Digital
Global Chief Creative Officer: Kika Douglas
Art Director: Luca Nante
Copywriter: Francesca Marchesi
PR Activation
Art Director: Vincenzo Russo
Copywriter: Alessandro Traverso
KVS & Post
Deputy Head of Art: Giuseppe Vescovi
Associate Creative Director: Adrian Gambaretto
Senior Designer & Art Director: Niccolò Orso Campanini
Strategy
Global Chief Strategy Officer: Sol Ghafoor
Head of Strategy: James Moore
Comms & Experience Strategy Director: Max Beckers
Strategist: Aneta Junkova
Client Services
Global Client Service Director: Shirine Aoun
Global Client Service Director: Alexis Delwasse
Global Business Director: Francesca Baldrighi
Global Account Director: Rossana de Rosa
Global Account Supervisor: Costanza Angeletti
Global Account Manager: Sara Margheritta
Global Account Executive: Chiara Allievi
PR & Communications
Global Head of PR and Communication: Isabella Cecconi
PR Director, Culture & Entertainment: Alfa Djalo
Senior PR Manager: Luca Orioli
Production
Global Chief Production Officer: Francesca Zazzera
Producer: Margherita Fonseca
Senior Post Producer: Miriam Ottina
Print Producer: Giorgia Bellondi
Production & Print Manager: Tina Paolella
Digital Art Director: Ariberto Anastasi
Video Production
Director: Fredrik Bond
President, Executive Producer: Daniel Bergmann
Managing Director: Klara Kralickova
Executive Producer: Kseniya Kurochkina
Executive Producer: Solana Keenan
Producer: Petr Moravec
Director of Photography: Roman Vas’yanov
Production Designer: Lucie Amosse
Stylist: Urşa Grahovac
Offline Edit
Editor: Patric Ryan
Photo Production
Photographer: Justin Bettman
Executive Producer: Iulia Dancila
Service Producer: Florin Patrascu
Service Production Manager: Mihai Cristescu
Service Production Coordinator: Catalin Varga
Photo Assistant: Wilder Marroquin
Director of Photography: Adrian Silisteanu
Gaffer: Dan Lita
Production Designer: Anca Miron
Wardrobe Stylist: Ovidiu Buta
Hairstylist: Sebastian Sarghe
Make-up Artist: Carmen Bogdan
Post Production
Editor: Jong Yoo
Editor: Steven Orts
Editor: Andrew Coleman
Editor: Alex Pundt
3D & Retouch: Davide Calliguori
3D & Retouch: Pietro Smurra
3D & Retouch: Daniele Tribi
Video Post-Production
Head of Post Production: Alfredo Beretta
Post Producer: Camilla Colabona
Editor: Antonio Civilini
Editor: Enrico Munarini
VFX Post Production
Colour Executive Producer: Ellora Soret
Colour Producer: Kerri Aungle
Colourist: Dan Moran
Audio Post Production
Sound Design, SFX, Editing & Mixing: Antonio D'Ambrosio
Sound Producer: Paola Calovi
AI Integration: Mirko Soldani
Music
Composition: Cheek To Cheek
Artist: Frank Sinatra
Writer: Irving Berlin
Music Supervisor: Richard Aardenburg
Music Licensing: Veronika Muravskaia
Executive Music Supervisor: Sander van Maarschalkerweerd
Digital Production
Executive Producer: Han Schuurman
Executive Producer: Laura Thrower
Lead Editor: Mike Duistermaat
Online Editor: Shebanjah Klaasen
Post Producer: Adam Crick
Post Producer: Julia Vinchon
Media
Global Account Director: Tiana Odavic-Shean
Senior Strategy Partner: Anna Kandasamy
Strategy Director: Rene Jellitsch
Senior Strategic Planner: Jack Bilbarnie
Senior Strategic Planner: Jack McCullogh
Partnerships Manager: Julie Le Houzec
PR
Managing Director: Kate Brazier
Executive Creative Director: Dan Roberts
Creative Director: Jordan Kavanagh
Director: Joe Burdon
Associate Director: Mollie Streek
Senior Account Director: Sophie Lambert-Russell
Senior Account Director: Erin Archer
Account Director: Hamish Murdoch
Senior Account Manager: Robyn Bowden
Account Manager: Poppy King
Senior Account Executive: Warren Davis
Account Executive: Felix Clark
Account Executive: Rebecca Kapoor
Account Executive: Charlie Warren
BTL
Chief Creative Officer: Sandra Bold
Creative Director: Greg Saynor
Creative: Leena Lum
Copywriter: Chris Cilliers
Lead Designer: Mark Mordecai
Design Director: Joe Dear
Senior Designer: Jon Warner
Business Director: Sophia Blake
Senior Account Manager: Kristina Lipinskaite
Strategy Director: Nataliia Dotsenko
Senior Strategist: Paige Jowsey
BTL Design
Creative Director: Peter Eisen
Client Business Director: Elseline Ploem
Design Director: Giovanni Pinzani
Senior Strategist: Henry Deane
Senior Designer: Yann Marzolff
Senior Designer: Niels Grimbergen
Senior Designer: Christian Stoytchev
Senior Designer: Maarten van Disseldorp
Senior Artworker: Jeroen Meijer
