Dry January 2025 is officially underway, bringing with it a flurry of activity from the usual suspects.
Botivo has debuted a 1% abv barrel-aged aperitivo, while Wiper & True has added a quartet of alcohol-free beers, and alcohol-free beer brand Lucky Saint has returned to TfL with its “biggest tube campaign to date”.
So far, so normal. But one brand’s involvement with Alcohol Change UK’s annual challenge is altogether more surprising.
Britain’s top-selling crisp brand Walkers has added a 0.0% alcohol claim to promotional packs, positioning them as “the official snacks of Dry January”.
Yesterday, Walkers shared an advert it had made for the campaign, showing cockney legend Danny Dyer back behind the bar and chatting to punters as he dished out pint glasses filled with crisps. The ad is being shared across digital platforms and social media channels throughout the whole of January to “capture shopper attention” during what Walkers refers to as a “culturally relevant moment” of the year.
Why Walkers is going sober
While investing in Dry January is a no-brainer for low & no-alcohol brands, who will inevitably see a surge in demand for their products during the first month of the year, Walkers’ investment in the seasonal push shows exactly how mainstream moderation is becoming.
The first Dry January took place in 2013, with 4,000 people signing up to the challenge. Fast-forward to 2025 and as many as 15.5 million Brits (29% of the population) are planning to take a month off drinking alcohol this January, according to a Censuswide survey of 2,000 adults commissioned by Alcohol Change UK.
Consumers' major motivations for going sober this month include a desire to save money (24%), followed by better sleep (18%), losing weight and improving fitness and overall health (all 16%).
The media tends to focus on Gen Z’s famously moderate drinking habits, but the survey’s findings demonstrate that sober curiosity is much more mainstream than we’ve been led to believe. Notably, men are particularly interested in taking time away from alcohol, with almost a third (32%) saying they want to go sober this month – which explains why Walkers has enlisted ultimate ‘geezer’ Dyer for its latest push.
The former EastEnders star has mainstream appeal and is positioned to “capture” the attention of shoppers who weren’t previously engaged with Dry January. Walkers’ approach appears to align with Alcohol Change UK’s own bloke-friendly messaging this year.
Normalising no-alcohol
Alcohol Change UK’s ‘Boss It’ campaign, devised by creative agency 23red, stars ex-professional football player Neil ‘Razor’ Ruddock alongside a laidback capybara, a weightlifting gran, and a gladiator taking on January without alcohol. Its goal is to set “even more people up for success during the 2025 Dry January challenge”, says Alcohol Change UK director of communications and marketing Joe Marley.
“Through eye-catching creative designs, a healthy dose of humour and fresh new content to connect with first-time participants, we are continuing our mission to help people positively transform their relationship with alcohol.”
Heineken, too, is striving to normalise the decision to go booze-free. Its new campaign ‘0.0 Reasons Needed’ comprises a series of TV ads challenging stereotypes associated with choosing non-alcoholic drinks. One of the ads shows a woman tucking into a rack of ribs while sipping a Heineken 0.0, demonstrating that alcohol-free drinks aren’t just for dieters.
The message at the heart of these campaigns? Going sober is no longer a niche pursuit; the everyman (or woman) can get involved too - although knocking back pints of crisps in the process is strictly optional.
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