HIKE

I built HIKE from scratch to sell a better, cooler, healthier non-alc brand to people looking for alternatives to alcohol.

The space was crowded with beer imitator brands and cringey yoga-lifestyle functional drinks and I figured I'd introduce something that spoke to folks with a less mainstream take on life.

A little punk rock, a little sketch comedy, a little weird. I hire fringe artists to create merch, build community through authentic connections to my customers, lean into guerilla marketing tactics and generally just reject a lot of the traditional wisdom of the beverage world. HIKE got it's start as an alternative to alcohol but I see it as becoming bigger than that. I see it as an elevated seltzer, like a Spindrift with hops.

So far people seem to get it and pick up on what I'm putting down.

 I N P R I N T & V I D E O

The work for HIKE is always evolving. I try to make it as visually interesting as possible and play around with tension, comedy, strangeness, irreverence, and culture. The authenticity comes through organically.  

Here are some print ads from the past:

...and some videos:

THE HYDRATION ASSISTANT

This was the first complete ad I made. I wanted to make something weird to get people interested in the brand. It may not have been the most educational video but I think it shows the personality of HIKE.

HIKE SMASH

I made this as a direct response to big beer companies selling super high abv beers in oversized cans with fruity flavors in gas stations under the guise of "craft beer." I find it to be super predatory and gross. So we took to smashing.

I made the sledge available for sale on my site. So far, no takers but one guy said he was saving up.

 DRINK COLD

HIKE is best enjoyed cold, it says so right on the can. Why not jump in the Atlantic in January to drive that point home?

INCUBATING IDEAS

THE BABY BUMP COOLER

This is a commercial for a fake product. But there is a world in which we make a few prototypes to sell for fun.

Open on a busy bar with a group of women hanging around a cocktail table. There are having a great time laughing and enjoying themselves.

Female V.O.  Are you tired of greaseballs trying to buy you weird shots at the bar when you’re just trying to enjoy an alcohol free night out with your friends?

Camera moves over to a sleazy dude who clocks them and motions to the bartender pantomiming a round of shots. They arrive on a tray. He smoothes his eyebrows and then licks his fingers. He begins walking over to the women. (could be funny if they are flaming shots)

Female V.O. HIKE has a solution.

One of the women sees him coming, rolls her eyes and nods her head to the other women to let them know he's coming. Just before he gets there, they all turn away from the table to reveal large pregnant bellies.

V.O. Introducing the HIKE Baby Bump cooler!

He double takes and spills the tray all over himself, slips in the liquid and falls down really hard (could be funny if he catches on fire). Either way he's humiliated.

All the women laugh and lift their shirts and zip open the bellies to pull out frosty cold HIKE hopped seltzers. (could be funny if one of them extinguishes the fire with HIKE)

Cut to a closeup of the baby bump cooler on the screen as the camera rotates around one of the women.

Woman V.O continued: The Baby Bump cooler sits low on your abdomen just like a human fetus in the final trimester and keeps cans of HIKE ripping cold for up to 12 hours so you always have an unspoken excuse on your waist and a refreshing zero alcohol beverage at the ready. Available now at hikehoppedseltzer.com

Cut back to the women cheers-ing HIKES and winking at the camera.

ANTI-SLUDGE

I want to talk about the healthy natural ingredients in HIKE without sounding like a hippie dippie functional brand. I started building out this video concept. It's rough but I figured it might be cool to share my process—glorified doodling.

This will become a more detailed dialed in story board and then I'll shoot it, edit it and post it.