On June 19, we received a random email from a guy named “Seth,” who wanted to tell us about how he’s in charge of advertising and marketing his 88-year-old grandmother’s eponymous beer called Ethel’s Brew (see “Ethel’s Brew Story” above). “Seth” explained that the beer was created by Ethel following the loss of her husband Burt because “it was a bit of a dream of theirs after a 1950’s visit to Oktoberfest in Germany.”

Well, we admittedly and unfortunately glanced over it because just over a week later, it’s been revealed that “Ethel’s Brew” was actually a social media effort created for the Cannes Lions by DDB worldwide CCO Amir Kassaei and his team. The DDB crew was responsible for it all, from Ethel’s story to, yes, even “Seth” and according to the agency, it was developed to “raise awareness of DDB’s successful social creativity approach.”

In a statement, Kassaei, whose team came up with “Ethel” in two weeks on a minimal budget, says, “Anyone can throw an over-the-top party, but pulling off a brand and product launch on a shoestring budget is a more exciting challenge for our teams.” Does this effort prove DDB’s social media savvy? Well, we can’t say it disproves it, but we’ll let you decide. Check out Ethel images and a Firefly cyclist enjoying a bevvie at Cannes after the jump.