Diageo AdWatch

Campaign Overview

This digital video features an open letter Nyashinski has written to his fans, one which illuminates the musician’s creative process and a final product that guarantees melodic perfection. The rapper and singer details how patience is a virtue in the search for artistic excellence: “To my fans, just a little more time. Not wasted, well spent. Just a few more changes, I want you to love it”. Moreover, Nyashinski stresses the importance of consistency, of continually producing exemplary work: “It has to be perfect. Perfect for you, every time”. Striking visual imagery accompanies the musician’s open letter, as Nyashinski inhabits an environment filled with golden hues and dazzling mirrors, as the rapper and singer outlines the value of passion in the pursuit of great art: “The purest artistry guided only by passion and the creative mantra”.

Key Learnings

Johnnie Walker here draws an effective parallel between the excellence of Nyashinski’s music and the quality of its whisky, as both entities strive towards undisputed perfection. Just as Nyashinski implores his fans to be patient, so too does Johnnie Walker, as its great-tasting whisky ages and improves over time. The ‘perfect for you, every time’ pledge that the musician makes could easily have been made by Johnnie Walker itself, as the brand promises the same level of quality and distinction in every of bottle of whisky it produces.

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Campaign Overview

This creative, which has also been broadcast on Irish television, sees a man order a pint of Island’s Edge in a busy pub. After being told by the barman that the drink is ‘less bitter’ than other stout, a fellow customer remarks that he is the same, that his ex-wife is getting remarried, and he isn’t bitter about it. This set off a chain reaction, as pubgoers one by one describe how they have left bitterness behind in pursuit of a more carefree existence: one reveller brushes off a misspelt tattoo, another leaves behind a frustrating memory of being excluded from the school rugby team, and one drinker even heartily dismisses the fact that everyone has been calling him by the wrong name. After everyone has made their light-hearted confessions, the creative concludes with the endline: “It’s better, less bitter”.

Key Learnings

This campaign addresses the fact that Irish people commonly complain that stout is far too bitter, with Island’s Edge offering them a welcome alternative. The creative playfully outlines that life, just like the taste of stout, is much better when it’s less bitter, with the humorous nature of the ad likely to resonate with customers. The confessional nature of the digital video adds a layer of authenticity to the campaign, and signals the idea that whilst Island’s Edge may be a relatively new brand, it is steeped in traditional Irish culture.

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Campaign Overview

‘Cuban Mode’ is being launched around the globe, with digital videos already featuring in markets such as Germany, and will implore customers to adopt the ‘contagious spirit’ of Cuba. The creative features a montage of lively and dynamic scenes from Cuban life, featuring dancing, partying, and socialising, as a voiceover states: “An energy born in Cuba, but felt by all. Making you want to grab life in all its colours, shapes and forms. And you want to share, with your people, at your rhythm, everywhere.”

Havana Club’s global brand director, Ludmilla Stephkov: “With this new campaign, we wanted to celebrate Cuba as a mindset and a way of life, and we wanted to invite everyone to experience its creative energy wherever they are by switching on their Cuban mode, which means experiencing and sharing this creative and collective Cuban energy, known as La Cubanía. This is the centre of what we do at Havana Club.”

Key Learnings

Havana Club’s Cuban heritage has always been at the heart of the company’s marketing and communications, and this latest campaign is no different. Indeed, the brand indicates how customers can enjoy an authentic taste of Cuban life wherever they are in the world by simply purchasing its rum. This focus on provenance and authenticity will undoubtedly endear Havana Club to its consumers, who will feel they are getting an accurate experience of Cuban life and culture through the brand’s products and campaigns.

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Campaign Overview

Craig is the focal point of this new digital video, which was directed by Oscar-winning filmmaker Taika Waititi and featuring an original soundtrack performed by global superstars Rita Ora and Giggs. The ad begins with the actor finding his way past a crowd on Paris’ Pont Neuf Bridge, before arriving at the luxurious Cheval Blanc Paris hotel. There, the former James Bond star playfully dances his way around the establishment’s lobby, hallways and rooftop, to moves choreographed by JaQuel Knight. Finding his way to his room, Craig pours himself a glass of Belvedere Vodka, and just as he’s about to take a sip, Waititi calls cut on the production: “Let’s go again. Just be yourself”.

Key Learnings

This campaign brings together a host of artistic talent from a variety of different creative disciplines to create something memorable, unexpected, and fun. The ad acts as a deft metaphor for the Belvedere brand: just as the digital video is unique and unconventional, so too is the quality and distinction of the company’s vodka. Moreover, the creative aims to replicate the feeling customers get from consuming Belvedere vodka, with Craig’s carefree and playful attitude symbolising the joy and bliss customers enjoy.

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Campaign Overview

This digital video tells the moving story of a man attempting to recreate a treasured family recipe, all under the watchful eye of his mother. Various cooking mishaps occur: the man struggles to accurately create pastry, mistakenly pours too many spices into his dish, and burns his hands on a hot pan. His efforts are rewarded, however, when he presents the meal to friends and family to enjoy over a bottle of Coca-Coca. That said, the creative concludes in a poignant fashion, as it is revealed the mother was never actually there, and that recreating the family recipe was the man’s way of keeping her memory alive.

Javier Meza, VP of Marketing for Coca-Cola Latin America: "Coca-Cola's long association with Christmas is something we treasure and this year we return with a new campaign that we hope people around the world will love. It is a tribute to families and friends, past and present, as well as the shared recipes, memories and traditions that unite generations during Christmas celebrations.”

Key Learnings

This creative plays on the idea that food and drink can evoke special memories, with Coca-Cola playing an important part in reminding the man of the cherished occasions he spent with his mother. Christmas is always a magical time for friends and family to come together and revel in the festivities, and this latest entry to Coca-Cola’s ‘Real Magic’ campaign capitalises on the holiday season to demonstrate how the brand is an integral part of the festive celebrations. Moreover, the ad demonstrates how Coca-Cola has been a market leader for decades, present on the tables of customers from generation to generation.

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Campaign Overview

The new glass vessel, which the brand has called the ‘Black Cow Ecotote’, is fully reusable and refillable, and features a tamper-proof and shock-proof 4.5-litre glass casing. Black Cow hopes the Ecotote will be able to replace the standard six-bottle case of spirits, and will be launching the packaging in bars and restaurants around the UK, in an effort to reduce the demand for single use glass in the hospitality industries. London restaurant Wild By Tart will be the first venue to use Black Cow’s Ecotote in its restaurant.

Paul Archard, co-founder of Black Cow: “Working with Ecospirits to provide refillable bottles to our venue listings is a great next step for us as a business. Sustainability has always been important to us at Black Cow and we are always looking for more ways to achieve this. Working with Ecospirits provides this solution as well as giving our customers the ability to enjoy our vodka in a more sustainable way.”

Key Learnings

This latest initiative demonstrates Black Cow Vodka’s commitment to not only becoming a more environmentally-friendly enterprise, but also to promoting sustainability across the spirits sector. By partnering with Ecospirits, the company is demonstrating what can be achieved through technology and innovation, as it implores other brands to follow its lead and become more ecologically aware. This positions Black Cow Vodka as a market leader and a trailblazer organisation, and offers customers reassurance that they are purchasing products from a responsible, ethically-aware business.

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Campaign Overview

The company is celebrating the festive period with a pair of digital videos, each focusing on the awkward social interactions many face at family gatherings during Christmas. In both instances, a woman is greeted at a party by her grandmother, who commends her on growing ‘into such a mature young lady’. In the first creative, titled ‘Christmas Cowgirl’, the woman responds to this comment in a playful southern-American accent, whereas in the second, titled ‘Mi’ Lady’, she reacts as if she were a ‘Victorian-era debutant’. In both cases, the woman chastises herself for replying so awkwardly, but is able to rectify the situation by presenting her grandmother with a bottle of Bread & Butter Wine. Each creative then concludes with the endline: “don’t overthink it”.

Key Learnings

This campaign successfully plays on the ‘Bread & Butter’ brand name, and the connotations that go along with it, to highlight how the simple things are often the best. With ‘bread and butter’ often being used in conversation to signify something dependable, this campaign helps to emphasise how the company’s wine is a reliable choice for customers at social gatherings. Moreover, the ‘don’t overthink it’ endline emphasises how Bread & Butter Wine should be the go-to choice for consumers who are looking for a quality product without the unnecessary fanfare.

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