Top 10 spirits marketing campaigns in June 2016
An edible jelly scale model of Buckingham Palace – complete with corgis – and a whisky experiment involving jazz music topped our selection of spirits marketing campaigns launched last month.
Pimm’s features in the top 10 marketing campaigns launched in June 2016
Last month Absolut vodka launched an advertisement with a transgender storyline as part of its #AbsolutNights campaign, and Douglas Laing encouraged consumers to sample the “sweeter side” of Scotch whisky with a dessert-themed marketing platform.
Moskovskaya Vodka commenced its latest ‘No fuss. Just vodka’ message via a global marketing campaign, while Gin Mare installed a Mediterranean gin garden in London.
Click through to the following pages for the top 10 marketing campaigns launched in June 2016.
Purity Vodka
Purity Vodka teamed up with Waterford Crystal as the official Martini glass partner of National Martini Month, which ran throughout June. To support the partnership, the ultra-premium vodka brand ran a social media campaign in the US to showcase its signature serve – the Purity Martini. The month-long campaign covered National Martini Day on 19 June and celebrated the brand’s “exceptional taste”, offering tips on how to make the “perfect” Martini and giving consumers the chance to win a pair of Waterford Crystal Lismore Diamond Martini Glasses.
Pimm’s
Pimm’s was named the official tipple of The Patron’s Lunch and created an edible jelly scale model of Buckingham Palace – complete with corgis – to celebrate. The Pimm’s Royale jelly sculpture was made using Pimm’s No.1 Cup and Champagne and measured one-metre long, 15cm deep and 20cm high. A team of three artists was led by Tim Simpson, who spent 200 hours crafting the famous landmark, designing and laser-cutting the jelly into shape and balancing the ratio of Pimm’s to Champagne for the “perfect wobble”. The edible masterpiece took a whole day to set. Pimm’s footmen were also given special “trike training sessions” for the lunch. The trikes were used to serve guests Pimm’s throughout the event.
Douglas Laing
Douglas Laing launched a new marketing platform to bolster its core expression, Old Particular. The integrated campaign, titled ‘Douglas Laing’s Delicious Desserts’, will feature advertising, digital, PR, on-trade and off-trade marketing activities around the world. Focusing on the dessert theme, the campaign will offer recipes, food pairing suggestions and information about events and competitions through Douglas Laing’s website and social media platforms over the next few months. The brand will also be pushing several Old Particular Single Grain dessert pairings to premium accounts to encourage consumers to sample the “sweeter side” of Scotch whisky.
Diageo
Diageo partnered with the United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR) on a new campaign to tackle drink-driving. The two-year ‘Road Safety Initiative for Cities’ has been designed to drive road safety awareness in 15 countries across Africa, Asia, Latin and Central America, with particular focus on preventing drink-driving. The partnership will specialise in countries with the highest death rates in relation to road traffic accidents, which reportedly kill more than 1.2 million people globally each year. More than 60 countries and 6,000 participants will be invited to take part in the initiative.
The Glenrothes
The Glenrothes single malt is hosting a series of experiments at East London jazz bar Kansas Smitty’s this month to measure the impact of music on the way people taste whisky. The experiments will see participants taste three Glenrothes vintage whiskies alongside music selected by Giacomo Smith, one of Kansas Smitty’s eight founding members. The research is inspired by a series of articles in Biomed Central, which explored the effect of music on wine tasting and found a “cross modal” connection between the two. Once the series of experiments are complete, the results will be studied for correlation. Bjorn Thorleifsson, who is currently studying a MA in Consumer Behaviour at Goldsmiths University, will assist with the research.
Gin Mare
After receiving a great reception in Madrid, Lisbon and New York City, Gin Mare has launched its Med Rooftops series in London. High up on a secret Knightsbridge rooftop a Mediterranean gin garden awaits, inspired by Gin Mare’s botanicals; Arbequina olive oil, rosemary, basil and thyme. Featured cocktails include The Perfect Martini with salt and strawberry, created by mixologist Stuart Bale; a French area serving cocktails with a Med-champagne infusion; and a coastal-inspired area pairing oysters with classic gin cocktails – including the brand’s Bloody Mare. The pop-up will also boast a Mediterranean menu with an English twist, created by celebrity chef Mark Hix and his team at Hix Restaurants, and music by Pacha resident DJ Jacob.
Moët Hennessy
As official partner of Solar Impulse and host partner of the Mission Control Centre in Monaco, Moët Hennessy was present to meet pilot Andre Borschberg at New York’s John F Kennedy airport. Solar Impulse is the only aeroplane capable of flying without fuel and emissions. Jim Clerkin, president and CEO of Moët Hennessy North America, owner of Belvedere vodka and Glenmorangie Scotch whisky, was at the airport to present the pilot and Bertrand Piccard with a custom ‘Solar Impulse’ golden jeroboam of Moët & Chandon Champagne to celebrate the aircraft’s arrival.
Glenfiddich
Glenfiddich Bourbon Barrel Reserve 14 Year Old encouraged consumers to ‘Rethink Whisky’ with its latest digital campaign. Created by digital agency Rokkan, the campaign will be supported on social and streaming video throughout July and is based on the notion that Scotch is the “most misunderstood spirit”. The ‘Rethink Whisky’ campaign comprises four films, titled Aunt Evie, Scotch with Dad, Pairings and Scotland, KY. Each clip was created by Rokkan and produced in partnership with DECON, and will be aired on glenfiddich.com and the brand’s social media channels.
Absolut
Absolut vodka launched an advertisement with a transgender storyline as part of its #AbsolutNights campaign. The spot, which is one of four created for the project, is set at a music festival and features the tagline ‘When was the last time you were true to yourself? Sometimes being open to new possibilities is all it takes’. In the clip, a man recognises an old friend called Dave. The voiceover says: “Only it wasn’t the Dave I remembered. He told me his name was Darla now.” The friends then listen to music, drink Aboslut Sea Breezes, dance, go backstage at one of the shows and take pictures in a photo booth. Towards the end of the commercial, the pair talk about how Dave became Darla. The voiceover adds: “We walked, and she told me she always felt this way. I just listened, and somehow I understood.”
Moskovskaya Vodka
Moskovskaya launched its new ‘No fuss. Just vodka’ global marketing campaign, which positions the brand as an “unpretentious vodka”. Developed in partnership with London agency Breakfast, the campaign is an “integral part” of Moskovskaya’s global repositioning across Europe and North America. The platform introduces the ‘MoskoVS attitude’ to tackle the “difficult-to-pronounce Russian language rooted brand name in a creative way”.
