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Top spirits marketing campaigns in August

A star-studded month for marketing saw actor Adam Devine named Captain Morgan’s ‘chief party officer’, while Kraken Black Spiced Rum hired The Walking Dead’s Tom Payne for its latest television spot.

Adam Devine (pictured right) stars in the latest iteration of Captain Morgan’s Live Like a Captain campaign

Smirnoff vodka continued to champion diversity with its latest campaign starring actors Ted Danson and Laverne Cox, while Loch Lomond Whiskies named US golfer Cristie Kerr an ambassador for the brand.

To celebrate its 50th anniversary, Olmeca Tequila “revitalised shot culture” with a new campaign, and New Amsterdam Vodka teamed up with Spotify to launch a new podcast.

Over the following pages, we name our top marketing campaigns launched in August 2018.

Smirnoff

Actors Ted Danson and Laverne Cox are among the famous faces featuring in Smirnoff vodka’s latest US TV campaign, titled Welcome to the Fun%.

Smirnoff describes the ‘Fun%’ as “anyone and everyone who wants to have accessible, unpretentious fun”. Joining The Good Place actor Danson and Orange is the New Black star Cox is actor and author Jenna Fischer and Queer Eye for the Straight Guy personality Jonathan Van Ness.

In each TV spot, Danson discusses Smirnoff’s credentials with another cast member, demonstrating a “humorous, playful attitude”. In addition to the TV ads, the campaign will be visible in out­-of-­home advertisements in several US cities.

Olmeca Tequila

Pernod Ricard-owned Olmeca Tequila is aiming to “revitalise shot culture around the world” with a new campaign that also celebrates its 50th anniversary.

The Make it Colossal campaign invites drinkers in Central America, Europe, Africa and Asia to create “colossal nights” by incorporating shot rituals into their parties.

Central to the campaign is an updated brand logo and visual identity, designed to present a “modern twist on the ancient designs of the Olmecs”, the first civilisation of Latin America.

Captain Morgan

Captain Morgan rum has recruited comedian and actor Adam Devine for the latest iteration of its Live Like a Captain campaign.

As part of the partnership, Devine (right in picture) has been dubbed Captain Morgan’s ‘chief party officer’.

Devine visits Captain Morgan’s houseparty in a video posted online to mark National Rum Day (16 August). The spot will make its television debut in the US in October.

“I’ve been living like a Captain for many years,” said Devine. “I’m glad my love for the brand has evolved from demanding everyone call me ‘The Captain’ at parties to now being the chief party officer for the Captain himself.”

New Amsterdam Vodka

New Amsterdam Vodka has partnered with music­-streaming service Spotify to launch its Ebb & Flow podcast.

The show, which is presented by DJ Jasmine Solano, has been sponsored by the E&J Gallo­-owned vodka brand.

Hosted by Solano, the five-­part series will present a number of “candid conversations” with rising hip-hop artists and entrepreneurs.

Ebb & Flow features guests including American rapper Bryce Vine, Albanian singer Gashi and Californian musician Saweetie. The series, which is Spotify’s first branded original podcast, aims to be “raw, personal and real”.

Kilchoman

Islay whisky distillery Kilchoman has extended its partnership with near-­field communications (NFC) specialist Thinfilm for a new range of ‘smart bottles’.

Kilchoman first collaborated with the electronics group last year for its smart bottle tags.

The Scotch whisky producer will now embed the technology into the labels of its new smart bottle format.

By tapping the bottles with an NFC­-enabled smartphone, consumers will be able to instantly launch digital experiences that offer product details, taste profiles, brand messaging, and distillery information.

Kilchoman is also developing new digital content to “deepen its relationships with brand enthusiasts”.

Grey Goose

Bacardi-owned Grey Goose partnered with broadcaster Film 4 for this year’s Summer Screen series in London.

The French vodka brand hosted a series of talks with some of the brightest creative minds in filmmaking, called Behind The Screen With Grey Goose.

The series of talks featured discussions from industry insiders, including Star Wars set decorator Stella Fox, Carol producer Elizabeth Karlsen and God’s Own Country director Francis Lee.

As part of the brand’s sponsorship, guests enjoyed complimentary Grey Goose cocktails and special reserved spaces in the courtyard at each film screening.

Diageo

Diageo launched a “sophisticated” new outdoor marketing drive last month, featuring different messages dependent on the time of day and the weather.

Diageo partnered with marketing specialist Posterscope on the campaign, which promotes its Gordon’s, Tanqueray, Smirnoff and Captain Morgan brands.

The campaign makes use of the ‘LDN’ network of JCDecaux, the world’s largest outdoor advertising company, and messages for each brand will be triggered by different criteria.

Screen locations are in close proximity to on-­ and off­-trade stockists, stations and open spaces.

Kraken

The Kraken Black Spiced Rum has launched a campaign to celebrate “epic storytelling” starring The Walking Dead actor Tom Payne.

The TV spot features an encounter with the titular creature – a mythical giant squid-­like sea monster – which is recounted in “tavern tall­-tale glory” by Payne.

The ad “capitalises on the cultural appetite for epic storytelling” and is targeted at the brand’s audience of comic book, video game, sci­-fi and fantasy fans.

It will run until 31 October and the wider campaign will include tastings at live events such as California’s Big Adventure festival.

Loch Lomond

The official spirit of The Open golf championship, Loch Lomond Whiskies, has agreed an ambassador partnership with US golfer Cristie Kerr.

Kerr is the latest professional golf ambassador for the brand, following in the footsteps of Scots Colin Montgomerie and Paul Lawrie.

Colin Matthews, CEO of Loch Lomond Group, said: “We hope that this association will demonstrate both our enthusiasm for the future of the women’s game as well as our ambition to introduce our diverse award­-winning Scotch whisky brands to many new consumers to enjoy.”

Kerr created a signature cocktail for the Women’s British Open, called The Kerr, which was served to guests during the competition last month.

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