While gin is having a moment, with the super-premium category surging by 16% in 2023, the botanical booze is still dwarfed by the sales of whiskey and vodka in the U.S., according to the Distilled Spirits Council of the United States. With plenty of room to grow, Bombay Sapphire sees an opportunity to make gin more relevant and approachable to help insure than the next generation of drinkers reach for gin.
To that end, the Bacardi brand launched the “Tastes Like It’s Friday” campaign last summer, positioning a combination of Bombay Sapphire and Sanpellegrino Limonata as a gateway into gin, with ads describing the cocktail as “basically Friday in a glass.” As the weather began to warm up this year, Bombay returned with the latest iteration of the campaign, marketing the beverage with a DJ set by queer icon Rebecca Black, the emerging pop star who went viral back in 2011 for her infamous song “Friday.”
The brand on Feb. 27 brought Black to South Beach, Miami, to DJ a set that saw the musician remix “Friday” with a sample of Charli XCX’s “360” — the opening track of the British star’s Grammy-nominated, culture-hacking album “Brat.” The event also took place on the same day as the release of Black’s latest EP, “Salvation.”
“Rebecca being the reigning queen of Friday herself and having that natural tie to the drink’s occasion, paired with her effortless approach to life and the way she approaches her music, we really knew that she'd be a perfect partner and help us to continue communicating the campaign's messaging, allowing us to reach a new generation of drinkers with a cocktail,” said Jaime Keller, brand director for Bombay Sapphire.
As its name suggests, the “Tastes Like It’s Friday” campaign is about capturing the potential of the weekend in a cocktail — the bright, sparkling, citrusy Bombay Sapphire Sparkling Lemon cocktail — that can be enjoyed any day of the week.
“Yes, it's a drink, but it's more than that,” Keller said. “The cocktail is really about bringing gin into the light, making memory structures for consumers that are different than some of their previous perceptions.”
Influencers and experiences
The “Tastes Like It’s Friday” campaign includes social media, media partnerships and digital and online video elements. In addition, lifestyle creators will be tasked with breaking down misconceptions about gin on their own channels, content that Bombay can boost through paid media.
“[Content creators] are tapping into their own cultural cachet as they communicate with their fan base,” Keller said. “It also serves as a great platform and an opportunity for influencers to show their fan base how delicious and easy the Sparkling Lemon is to make.”
The campaign first kicked off last summer with a pop-up lounge at Grand Central Station where the brand served Bombay Sapphire Sparkling Lemons to more than 10,000 consumers — both regular gin drinkers and category newcomers — at the moment they transitioned from their workdays to their personal lives.
Along with pop-up lounges and celebrity-led DJ sets, Bombay Sapphire will extend the campaign’s experiential activations to bartender residencies, tasting events and office happy hours in major metropolitan areas through 2025.
“We look at how we can intercept consumers when they're transitioning from the office to wherever they may be going,” Keller said. “That brings a mix of the tradition of the brand and the modernity of ways in which we can connect consumers.”
