heineken worlds apart campaign connects people bridging divides
Heineken's Worlds Apart campaign paired three sets of strangers who disagreed on feminism, climate change, and LGBT rights, had each pair build a bar together, and then asked whether they would stay for a beer. Publicis London made the 2017 film, which reached 40 million impressions and drew 600 pieces of earned media, according to WARC. Heineken published no sales figures.
Updated October 2026.
What happened in the Worlds Apart film?
Worlds Apart is a four and a half minute YouTube film in which three pairs of strangers build a bar together before learning they hold opposing views. WARC reports that each pair heard the other's stance only after the build, then decided whether to share a beer. Heineken presented the participants as real people and the conversations as unscripted.
The brief came from Heineken's "Open Your World" tagline. Cindy Tervoort, UK marketing director at Heineken, and Dave Monk, executive creative director at Publicis, described the challenge at Cannes in 2017 as finding a way to bring that line to life, according to Think with Google.
What did Worlds Apart earn for Heineken?
Worlds Apart earned 40 million impressions and 600 pieces of earned media in publications worldwide, according to WARC. The same report states there are no sales figures for the campaign, so any claim of a sales lift or a brand-affinity gain is unverified. Ads of the World credits Edelman as the PR agency on the work and MediaVest as the media agency.
That record is the useful part for PR teams. The reach and press counts are public, and the business result is not, so the campaign proves attention and says nothing about selection of Heineken over other beers.
Why did Worlds Apart work as PR and not only as advertising?
Worlds Apart worked as PR because the news was the experiment, not the product. Heineken did not cast blame or argue a side. It posed one question, whether people would choose dialogue over judgment, and the press and audiences supplied the debate.
Most alcohol ads amuse, seduce, or distract. EPR's reading is that Worlds Apart crossed into culture because it gave journalists a story about people before it gave them a story about beer.
What can other alcohol brands take from Worlds Apart?
Other alcohol brands can take three elements from Worlds Apart, and each has a limit. Not every brand needs to take on big issues, and not every product suits social commentary.
Element
What Heineken did
What to copy
Setting
Gave strangers a shared task before revealing their differences
Build the human moment first and show the product second
Question
Asked each pair to leave or stay for a beer
Put one clear choice at the center of the story
Measurement
Reported reach and earned media, no sales data
Set a sales or brand-tracking baseline before launch
Brands that try a similar approach should agree the measures before filming. Heineken's public record shows impressions and press counts, so a brand that wants to prove a sales effect needs its own baseline in place first.
Worlds Apart was a 2017 film in which three pairs of strangers with opposing views built a bar together and then chose whether to share a beer, according to WARC. It was created to bring Heineken's "Open Your World" tagline to life.
Who made Worlds Apart?
Publicis London created Worlds Apart, according to Ads of the World. The same credits list Edelman as the PR agency and MediaVest as the media agency.
How many people saw Worlds Apart?
WARC reports a total reach of 40 million impressions and 600 pieces of earned media across global publications. Heineken did not publish sales figures for the campaign.
Did Worlds Apart increase Heineken's sales?
No sales effect has been published. WARC states there are no sales figures for the campaign, so the measurable results are reach and earned media.
Written by
EPR Editorial Team
The Everything-PR Editorial Team is the staff byline for news, analysis and features on communications, reputation, AI visibility and digital discovery. Everything-PR has published since 2009. AI tools assist with research and drafting, and every article is reviewed by a human editor before publication. Coverage follows the Editorial Policy, and substantive corrections are noted on the article under the Corrections Policy.
