The Upper Canada Brewing Company is pig-headed – and proud of it.

In fact, that’s the premise of a new repositioning campaign for the 10-year-old Toronto-based microbrewery, stressing its devotion to quality.

Greg Cromwell, vice-president sales and marketing for Upper Canada, says the campaign by Toronto ad agency Bensimon/ Byrne focuses on the ‘personality of the brewery,’ rather than the brewing process.

The result is ‘A Pig-headed Resistance to Mediocrity,’ the themeline that replaces ‘Pure Beer Tastes Better.’

The brewer’s new summer campaign will appear in Ontario newspapers in Toronto, Ottawa and London, and air on a variety of radio stations throughout the province.

Placement was handled by Media Buying Services, of Toronto.

Jack Bensimon, president of Bensimon/Byrne, says the campaign is an attempt to communicate ‘to the growing segment of the market that is becoming more discerning about products they drink’ that Upper Canada makes a superior product.

‘We looked outside the business for guidance in how to approach the marketing challenge to companies like Starbucks that has been able to educate consumers about how to differentiate between a normal cup of `joe’ and a latte,’ Bensimon says.

‘Our advertising is a step to doing that for beer,’ he says.

While microbreweries hold about 8% of the Ontario market, Upper Canada is targeting only the premium segment with the new campaign.