Boru Takes Battle of the Bands Online

Anyone who has ever attended college has likely experienced at least one battle of the bands competition. The scene generally involves a few wannabe rock stars with semi-tuned instruments and loud amps. Boru Vodka, for the second year, decided to pay homage to these rockers via its online “Defend the Bar Band” competition.

Consumers were invited to visit www.borubarband.com and vote for their favorite bar band. A panel of judges spared viewers’ eyes and ears by selecting 14 semifinalists from among 800 applicants representing 47 states.

To generate interest, Boru brand ambassadors hit the bars hosting “Defend the Bar Band” nights. Patrons were spurred into competing in impromptu Guitar Hero competitions. For their hard work and hard rocking, they received promo kits containing posters, T-shirts, hats, tattoos, coasters, napkins and other items.

A band called The Loveblisters emerged victorious after voting had ended. The band received a professionally produced music video of their song Devotion as well as $10,000 in new equipment. The Castle Brands-owned Irish vodka also delivered the track to 650 radio stations using Yangaroo’s eNotes technology.

“This year’s Boru ‘Defend the Bar Band’ competition was extremely successful, with more than eight times the number of bands participating over last year’s number,” says D’Arcy King from C2 Creative, Castle Brands’ agency of record. “Fan involvement through online voting helped The Loveblisters, capture the top spot in the competition and claim the title of the most passionate and authentic bar band.”

Thanks to the success of the campaign, Boru is looking to vastly expand the competition in 2009 in hopes of finding the next The Loveblisters.