Dive Brief:
- Diageo-owned Smirnoff launched "Welcome to the Fun%," a new campaign that features a diverse cast of celebrities who highlight the vodka brand's affordability and accessibility for everyone, according to news shared with Marketing Dive.
- A series of playful spots feature actor and producer Ted Danson (currently on NBC's "The Good Place") with other recognizable faces, including actress and author Jenna Fischer (formerly of "The Office"), LGBTQ television personality Jonathan Van Ness (Netflix's "Queer Eye" revival), LGBTQ advocate and actress Laverne Cox ("Orange is the New Black") and comedian and actress Nicole Byer ("Nailed It!"). The ambassadors tout Smirnoff's made in America heritage and inclusive qualities and encourage responsible drinking.
- Smirnoff is also debuting a series of out-of-home ads in New York City, Chicago and Los Angeles, along with social media content that features "Chopped" judge and chef Amanda Freitag, Instagram and YouTube star Toddy Smith, plus-size fashion designer Gabi Gregg and celebrity drag queen and reality TV star Alyssa Edwards.
Dive Insight:
With "Welcome to the Fun%," Smirnoff humorously leans into a few different progressive ideas, including those around class disparity and diversity. The "Fun%" title is a clear nod to the concept of "the 1%," which was popularized during the Occupy movement and refers to the top-earning Americans who own a vastly disproportionate amount of the nation's wealth. By touting its affordability and accessibility to everyone, Smirnoff is flipping the idea on its head in a way that might resonate with younger drinkers like millennials, who have proved increasingly frustrated with the state of income inequality.
By spotlighting several prominent LGBTQ personalities like Cox and Van Ness, Smirnoff can also potentially tap to an often-overlooked segment. Fifty-three percent of surveyed marketers report allocating 0% to 4% of their campaign budgets to LGBTQ consumers each year, according to a recent study by INTO and Brand Innovators. Those low figures come despite LGBTQ consumers now wielding an estimated $5 trillion in collective global spending power. More than one-third of consumers are also more likely to purchase from brands that include LGBTQ themes and people in their marketing, the study found.
The latest campaign is an extension of Smirnoff's "Only the Best for Everyone" from last year, which also starred Danson, and follows several other efforts centered around inclusivity. In June, Smirnoff partnered with viral publisher LADbible on "Free to Be," a documentary video series focused on tough conversations around race, disability, and LGBTQ issues. The vodka marketer also earlier this year teamed up with Spotify on an API that promoted female musicians to reach gender parity in streaming listeners' playlists — part of a broader "Equalizing Music" campaign.
