Dive Brief:
- Diageo-owned whisky brand Johnnie Walker updated its ongoing "Keep Walking" campaign with a visual identity refresh created with agency Anomaly, according to a press release. The refresh includes images and short videos in which the brand's traditional design elements are placed amid different patterns and strong colors intended to showcase the "sensorial dynamism" of the whisky.
- The campaign also includes a cocktail experience developed with agency Giant Spoon. Called the Johnnie Walker Cocktail Grocer, it is a display that evokes the original John Walker & Sons grocer, where the whisky was created nearly 200 years ago. At the counter, attendees at cultural events across the U.S. can experience local popular foods and cocktails. The installation will be appearing at Tropicalia Festival, Infatuation's Eeeeeatscon LA and the Tribeca Film Festival.
- The brand said "Keep Walking" will also include continued support for cultural partners, including actress and activist Sophia Bush, the Latino indie rock band Chicano Batman and 88Rising, a media company dedicated to advancing the representation of Asian-Americans in music.
Dive Insight:
By updating its ongoing "Keep Walking" campaign, Johnnie Walker is trying to build on its momentum, with the release stating that sales have grown 9% in North America in fiscal 2019. The strategy includes dynamic creative, such as short vertical videos that ripple, and steeping the brand in local culture by showcasing drinks that are popular in a specific area. The revamp has younger consumers clearly in its sights, given the popularity of short video on mobile and experiential marketing with millennials and older Gen Z consumers, who dislike traditional ads.
The goal of the effort, per the press release, is to showcase the brand in a way that encourages customers to explore new experiences with its whisky and reflects its customers' interest in experimentation and pushing boundaries.
Recent campaigns by Johnnie Walker, like this new iteration, have also focused on revising the brand's well-known imagery in an effort to make the brand more contemporary. The "Keep Walking" campaign name references the "Striding Man" who appears in tails and top hat in the brand's logo.
Last year, for instance, the brand unveiled a female iteration of the logo called "Jane Walker." Also last year, Johnnie Walker released a limited-edition bottle that featured an icy white-and-blue design, referencing the White Walkers in the HBO series “Game of Thrones,” and the "Striding Man" was shown wearing armor. The label itself was printed with a temperature-sensitive ink that showed a special graphic when frozen.
