Stella Artois brings its Perfect Serve to Netflix’s The Gentlemen
Stella Artois has entered the criminally polished world of Netflix’s The Gentlemen, turning its five-step Perfect Serve ritual into a series of power moves ahead of the show’s second season.
Created by GUT Amsterdam with Netflix Brand Creative Studio, “The Gentlemen’s Serve” stars Theo James as Eddie Horniman alongside Stella Artois ambassador Sir David Beckham.
The campaign finds a useful piece of shared behaviour: in The Gentlemen, small rituals can signal status, control and threat.
The hero film, “The Auction”, puts Beckham and Horniman into a tense bidding contest over a bull. Instead of raising the stakes conventionally, Horniman sends his rival a Stella, turning the meticulously prepared drink into a warning.
Five accompanying films, “The Clean-Up”, “The Sacrifice”, “The Angle”, “The Cut” and “The Judgement”, each reinterpret a stage of Stella’s pouring ritual through the show’s particular brand of aristocratic menace.
“The Gentlemen is a natural fit to showcase Stella Artois’ brewing heritage and iconic pouring ritual,” said Marcel Marcondes, global chief marketing officer at AB InBev.
GUT Amsterdam executive creative director Guillaume Roukhomovsky summed up the tonal collision more succinctly: “Giving a whole new meaning to beer fear. Sorry David.”
The partnership extends across sponsorship, social, influencer activity and experiential marketing in eight markets, alongside limited-edition Stella Artois chalices. In London, Netflix and Stella Artois are also taking over The Marlborough pub from September 3 to 5, with JKR involved in the experience.
The work was directed by Fredrik Bond through Stink, with post-production and VFX from Heckler Amsterdam and audio by Rabble Studios.
It continues Stella’s willingness to put familiar brand assets to work in unexpected situations, following its recent Toronto billboard exchange and Beckham-fronted World Cup campaign. It also fits Netflix’s broader habit of pushing entertainment properties into the real world, seen recently in its Sunset Boulevard billboard stunt.
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