Cerveza Cristal
{{About|the beer brand in Chile|the beer brand in Peru|Backus and Johnston Brewery|the beer brand in Cuba|Holguín}}
{{Short description|Chilean beer brand}}
{{Infobox drink
| name = Cerveza Cristal
| image = Cerveza Cristal.jpg
| image_size =
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| type = Beer
| abv =
| proof =
| manufacturer = CCU
| distributor =
| origin = Chile
| introduced = 1977
| discontinued =
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| website = [https://www.cristal.cl/ www.cristal.cl]
| region =
| logo = File:Cerveza_Cristal_(Chile)_logo.png
}}
Cerveza Cristal (lit. Cristal Beer) is a Chilean brand of pilsner beer, introduced in 1977 and sold by Compañía de Cervecerías Unidas (CCU).
History
The brand was registered as "Pilsener Cristal" in August 1977 and its commercial launch occurred in 1978.{{cite web |title=Cerveza Cristal presenta nueva variedad de edición limitada |url=https://mercadomayorista.lun.com/noticias/2019/09/09/cerveza-cristal-presenta-nueva-variedad.html |website=Mercado Mayorista |language=es |date=9 September 2019 |access-date=6 March 2024 |archive-date=9 March 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240309195456/https://mercadomayorista.lun.com/noticias/2019/09/09/cerveza-cristal-presenta-nueva-variedad.html |url-status=live }}{{cite web |title=Cristal celebra la tradición cervecera |url=https://www.ccu.cl/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/DIC_2015.pdf |work=EnCCUentro |format=PDF |date=December 2015 |access-date=6 March 2024 |page=7 |archive-date=30 May 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230530080551/https://www.ccu.cl/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/DIC_2015.pdf |url-status=live }} In 1993, it was relaunched as "Cerveza Cristal",{{cite web |title=De pilsener a cerveza: así es la historia de Cristal |url=https://images.lun.com/lunservercontents/PDFSlow/2023/jun/12/LCTP11MM1206.pdf |work=Mercado Mayorista |format=PDF |date=12 June 2023 |author=Colombara, Ciro |language=es |access-date=6 March 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240306165353/https://images.lun.com/lunservercontents/PDFSlow/2023/jun/12/LCTP11MM1206.pdf |archive-date=6 March 2024}} and in that same year, it adopted the motto "Única, Grande y Nuestra" ("Unique, Great and Ours").{{cite web |last=Jure |first=Felipe |date=March 8, 2021 |title=Única, grande, nuestra… Cristal |url=https://dualmedia.cl/blog/unica-grande-nuestra-cristal/ |website=Dual Media |accessdate=6 March 2024 |language=es |archive-date=9 June 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230609110302/https://dualmedia.cl/blog/unica-grande-nuestra-cristal/ |url-status=live }}{{cite web |url=https://www.cristal.cl/historia |title=Historia |website=Cristal |language=es |access-date=6 March 2024 |archive-date=5 March 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240305014731/https://www.cristal.cl/historia |url-status=live }}
In 2008, a non-alcoholic version was launched on the market, called "Cristal Cero", to which "Cristal Cero Radler" was added in 2016, which contains lemon juice. In 2023, a limited edition called "Cristal Orígenes" ("Cristal Origins") was presented as a tribute to the three natural regions of Chile: the northern zone with a touch of limón de Pica, the central zone with a touch of honey, and the southern zone with a touch of berries.{{cite web |title=Cerveza Cristal lanza edición limitada para homenajear a las distintas zonas del país |url=https://www.anda.cl/cerveza-cristal-lanza-edicion-limitada-para-homenajear-a-las-distintas-zonas-del-pais/ |website=Anda |language=es |date=13 June 2023 |access-date=6 March 2024 |archive-date=27 September 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230927045454/https://www.anda.cl/cerveza-cristal-lanza-edicion-limitada-para-homenajear-a-las-distintas-zonas-del-pais/ |url-status=live }}
Marketing
{{further|The Force is with Cristal Beer}}
In December 2003, CCU commissioned a series of commercials for Cerveza Cristal, which were broadcast at the beginning of each advertising period during the broadcast of Star Wars saga films on Canal 13, so that the spots seemed to be continuations of the preceding scenes. In A New Hope, for example, the scene where Obi-Wan Kenobi opens a chest to show Luke Skywalker his father's lightsaber is edited seamlessly to have the former hold a Cerveza Cristal complete with its jingle.{{cite web |last1=Zwiezen |first1=Zack |date=March 6, 2024 |title=The Star Wars Cerveza Cristal Meme Is So Dang Good |url=https://kotaku.com/star-wars-beer-ad-cerveza-cristal-memes-chile-obi-wan-1851312591 |website=Kotaku |language=en-US |access-date=March 6, 2024 |archive-date=March 6, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240306182753/https://kotaku.com/star-wars-beer-ad-cerveza-cristal-memes-chile-obi-wan-1851312591 |url-status=live }} The campaign, titled The Force is with Cristal Beer, was awarded at various international events.{{cite web |url=https://adage.com/article/madisonvine-news/omd-chile-s-product-placement-coup/40570 |title=OMD Chile's product placement coup |website=Advertising Age |date=7 July 2004 |last=Newbery |first=Charles |accessdate=26 February 2024 |archive-date=27 February 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240227001135/https://adage.com/article/madisonvine-news/omd-chile-s-product-placement-coup/40570 |url-status=live }}{{cite web |url=https://www.latinspots.com/sp/noticia/chile-se-consagr-con-el-gran-prix-de-media/6287 |title=Chile se consagró con el Gran Prix de Media |website=LatinSpots |date=23 June 2004 |accessdate=26 February 2024 |language=es |archive-date=26 February 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240226205900/https://www.latinspots.com/sp/noticia/chile-se-consagr-con-el-gran-prix-de-media/6287 |url-status=live }}
The campaign resurfaced as an internet meme in 2024 applied to other movies and media to lighten up usually intense or dramatic scenes.{{cite web |last1=Silva |first1=Christianna |date=March 5, 2024 |title=What's going on with 'Star Wars' and Cerveza Cristal? |url=https://mashable.com/article/cerveza-cristal-star-wars-meme-twitter-x |website=Mashable |language=en-US |access-date=March 6, 2024 |archive-date=March 5, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240305205257/https://mashable.com/article/cerveza-cristal-star-wars-meme-twitter-x |url-status=live }}