• by Tanya Gazdik , August 25, 2014

A paid social media campaign from Deschutes Brewery promoted its flagship beer, Black Butte Porter, by promoting its unflagging fan, Jimmy Barr.

The campaign is the first work from advertising agency TDA_Boulder, Boulder, Colo.

The Bend, Ore.-based beer company said Barr, of Luzerne, Penn., was “hired” to fill the newly created position of Deschutes’ official director of Unofficial Social Media.

For one week, Aug. 19-26, Deschutes turned its Facebook page into the “Unofficial Jimmy Barr Fan Page.” It will also produce special “Limited Release” six-packs of Black Butte Porter, labeled “Unofficial,” and tagged “Our way of thanking our Unofficial Social Media Director.” (The beer will be the same.)

While Barr’s position does not involve actual pay, neither does it involve actual work — other than to keep on, if he so chooses, with the Facebook “Unofficial Black Butte Porter Page” that he has been diligently keeping on with for the last five years.

The Deschutes page has added about 8,000 followers in the past week, rising from about 60,000 to 68,000.

Keyword-targeted Facebook advertising, via Kinetic Social network, promoted the takeover. Different page posts, both with Barr’s picture, will either announce his new title, or tag him as “a hell of a guy.”

On LinkedIn, banner advertising invited that career site’s viewers to “Congratulate Jimmy Barr on his New Position,” and linked to Deschutes’ “Unofficial Jimmy Barr Fan Page.” The beer company also promoted the stunt on its Twitter feed.