Any booze advertising is tricky these days, unless it’s alcohol-free. Not much help to Dewar’s whisky which obviously isn’t. But whisky ads through the ages have tended to get stuck in a Scottish glen, with a bunch of Pringle sweaters clinking away.
There’ve been exceptions of course: Robert Carlyle’s marathon for Johnnie Walker from BBH all those years ago and before that Saatchi’s animated game bird for Famous Grouse. This, so a visitor tells me, is the Royals’ favoured tipple at their Balmoral bolthole – no pricey single malts for them.
Bacardi-owned Dewar’s, a blend, has been around for 180 years it seems and it’s back with a new global campaign from BBDO, ‘Here’s to the Story.’ So we have a large group of pals gathering on a Scottish mountainside (as you do) to the rather unlikely backing of Lou Reed.
Laila Mignoni, global vice president, creative excellence, Bacardi says: “The “Here’s to the Story” campaign is a tribute to Dewar’s’ tradition of exceptional craftsmanship and the novel characters and stories that have shaped the brand over the centuries.
“Our whisky has always been more than a drink, it’s a celebratory symbol of life’s greatest moments and the shared stories that define them. This campaign is an invitation to our consumers to take a seat at the table and toast the stories that make life truly fulfilling.”
You can see why whisky makers want to emphasise the social, the ancient tipple has something a rep. for gloomy, solo drinking.
And, these days especially, you can’t have Ralph C. Nesbitt falling off his boat. Shame though…
MAA creative scale: 5.
