Dive Brief:
- Diageo-owned Captain Morgan is leveraging the company’s status as the Official Spirits Sponsor of the NFL to add some excitement to sports viewing with a new campaign, “Great Things Happen When You Spice It Up,” according to details shared with Marketing Dive.
- The effort launched with a 15-second commercial on the NFL Network that featured fans of two opposing NFL teams in a bar. The spot depicts the home team fans making the visiting team’s fans, who hail from a warmer climate, uncomfortable by opening the door to let the cold in.
- The campaign is part of a broader new brand platform focused on leveraging “spice” as an element of fun. Also included are three 15-second short-form social videos that will run across TV, streaming and digital/social channels throughout the remainder of the year.
Dive Insight:
Amid shifting NFL sponsorship relationships, Diageo is dipping into its extensive brand portfolio to keep its status as the Official Spirit Sponsor of the NFL fresh. Earlier this year, the brand’s Crown Royal announced a partnership with Uber Eats for game day deliveries, and now the Captain Morgan brand is looking to make an even more direct connection with fans. The spiced rum’s new marketing push was developed with Anomaly New York and Kinopravda.
The new campaign plays up the rivalries among sports fans, particularly when visiting teams’ fans dare to venture into opposing territory. In addition to the “Chill Out” commercial that shows warm — weather fans getting shocked by an opposing team’s colder climate, another spot shows a home team’s marching band strategically interrupting an opposing fan’s ability to enjoy his cocktail at a game.
The other commercials demonstrate how levity brings people together. One depicts two fashionable older women photobombing a group of younger customers at a bar until they all enjoy a round of drinks together. Another shows a man artfully trading a woman’s off-tasting shot with a hit of Captain Morgan Spiced Apple.
“In our new North American brand platform and campaign, we're evolving the focus on 'spice' to be the catalyst that expands the possibilities of fun,” Sam Salameh, vice president of Captain Morgan North America, in a statement provided to Marketing Dive.
Captain Morgan parent Diageo signed on as the NFL’s first-ever “Official Spirits Sponsor” in a multiyear partnership that began last year. In addition to traditional advertising opportunities, the sponsorship includes on-site activations at NFL games and a presence at other signature league events, including this year’s International Series games in London.
