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Amarula ramps up ‘Name Them Save Them’

Distell-owned cream liqueur brand Amarula is entering the second stage of its Name Them Save Them campaign to protect African elephants, with special edition bottles to be unveiled at the IAADFS event next month.

Amarula is rolling out the second stage of its Name Them Save Them campaign to raise awareness of the plight of African elephants

Phase one of Name Them Save Them was launched in October, when international customers were invited to ‘visit’ the African savannah where they could design and name an elephant.

The named elephant could then be shared on social media to raise awareness of the dangers faced by the animals.

Distell says that so far more than 500,000 conservation enthusiasts have visited the digital savannah – a number greater than the actual wild elephant population there.

The second phase will roll out at this year’s IAADFS Duty Free Show of the Americas, where the elephants created and named online will be brought to life on the labels of 400,000 individual Amarula bottles – one for each of the remaining African elephants.

A number of the unique bottles will be displayed on-stand at IAADFS before they are distributed to key Amarula markets around the world.

“The future of the African elephant is at a tipping point,” said Dino D’Araujo, Amarula global general manager.

“Collected data shows that each day – not each month or even each week – each day around 96 African elephants are killed by poachers for their ivory. The species simply cannot sustain a slaughter on that scale and survive.”

Amarula is donating US$1 to African elephant conservation projects for every digital elephant created online.

The elephant has been a symbol for the brand since it launched in 1989.

“We have always had a special bond with these magnificent creatures as the marula tree and its fruit contribute enormously to the well-being of the elephant and the very existence of Amarula,” D’Araujo continued.

“We had to come up with something that would personalise the plight of the African elephant in a way that would resonate with the international community and rally it to the cause. We think Name Them, Save Them is the perfect vehicle for this outreach.”

Name Them Save Them was launched in the wake of the 2015 killing of Cecil the Lion. By naming the lion, conservationists had created a persona for the creature and thus allowing the public to relate to it and care about its wellbeing. Amarula cites the outcry following Cecil’s death as the impetus behind the Name Them Save Them initiative.

Amarula bottles carrying the names of the digital elephants will be available in late spring 2017 in global travel retail, South Africa, Germany, Brazil, Canada, the UK and US.

The IAADFS Duty Free Show of the Americas takes place from 26-29 March at the Marriott World Center, Orlando, Florida.

Last year, Distell launched a refreshed bottle design for its Amarula Cream liqueur that reflects the shape of the African elephant.

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