Dive Brief:
- Smirnoff Ice, a malt beverage from Diageo, is getting summer-ready with a new campaign centered around the message that “Smirnoff Ice Surpr-ices are coming,” per a press release. The playful twist on “surprises” is also timed to music festival season.
- Key to the effort is a national TV commercial and digital spots directed by Spike Lee that star comedian Trevor Noah and actor Travis Bennett (“You People”). To introduce the effort, the brand last week “iced out” several famous U.S. landmarks.
- The brand also unveiled the campaign with a pop-up event in downtown Indio, California, timed around the Coachella musica festival. The effort will additionally include text-to-win giveaways and additional brand activations at festivals and amphitheaters this summer.
Dive Insight:
Smirnoff Ice is attempting to offer a fresh take on surprises with its “Surpr-ices” campaign, establishing that such moves under its helm are always positive, celebrate boldness and offer a comedic twist, per release details. The effort — which is also meant to be a play on “ice” as a term for bling — is timed to both summer and the music festival season and could help the Diageo brand shore up stronger brand loyalty among younger audiences.
Included in the effort is a new national TV commercial and digital spots starring Noah and Bennett. In the spot, Noah claims that “brunch is just a lunch that doesn’t believe in itself,” declaring that a “surpr-ice” is needed before the brunch turns into a party complete with Smirnoff Ice while Bennett serves as a DJ. The spot is slated to roll out on April 15.
Tied to its campaign, Smirnoff Ice appeared at what it describes as the “most anticipated music festival of 2024,” — a nod to Coachella — with a pop-up event at the corner of Highway 111 and Oasis in downtown Indio, California on April 12. The activation touted surprises in the form of both the “ice” that sparkles and the Smirnoff beverage itself in addition to offering the chance to win festival-inspired collectibles by designer Sue Tsai.
Additionally, the brand last week teased the campaign by leveraging CGI to place an oversized version of its beverage in two notable U.S. landmarks, the Chicago Riverwalk and Venice Beach Skate Park in Los Angeles.
Smirnoff Ice also plans to bring its campaign to several other festivals and amphitheaters this summer. Additionally, throughout summer the brand will dole out prizes to consumers who enter a text-to-win giveaway by texting “BLING” to “24272.” The move could help Smirnoff Ice reach a wider audience while collecting valuable first-party data.
The summer campaign from the Diageo brand comes a year after it celebrated its 23-year history with a design overhaul and nostalgia-driven national campaign. To promote its new look, the brand traveled across the country starting as part of a “Smirnoff Ice Relaunch Tour,” flexing a Live Nation partnership to offer live music experiences. For that effort, the brand also teamed with Noah and a slew of influencers for seven TV spots.
