The makers of Johnnie Walker® Blue Label® today announced plans to bring contemporary art to the public through a new multi-million dollar integrated marketing campaign that uses contemporary art to reinforce Blue Label as a luxury brand.
The centerpiece of the campaign is the first in a series of works of art featuring Johnnie Walker Blue Label by Warren du Preez and Nick Thornton-Jones, two of Britain’s leading creative artists. The artists use a combination of photography and digital imaging to create a luxuriously abstract visual that reinforces the rarity and exclusivity of Johnnie Walker Blue Label. The stunning and innovative work of art engages consumers and challenges them to discern the image; a point that is driven home by the tagline, “For those who know what to look for.”
“The world of contemporary art is a metaphor for the rare, exclusive Blue Label experience,” said Chris Parsons, Vice President, Scotch Marketing, Diageo NA. “The contemporary art we’ve created with these talented artists becomes a visual link to the space that our target consumers want to occupy. As portrayed by the works of art, Johnnie Walker Blue Label belongs in a luxury environment, so too does our consumer.”
The works of art convey a broader umbrella theme of art that will be used in an integrated camapign consisting of print and out-of-home advertising, Public Relations activities and Point of Sale and Merchandising Displays.
The print campaign, created by BBH-New York, will begin running in December issues of publications such as New York Times Magazine, GQ, Esquire, Robb Report and Travel & Leisure; and in daily newspaper ads in the New York Times.
Other highlights of the marketing initiative include:
Johnnie Walker® Blue Label® Provides Extended After-hours Art
In celebration of the new campaign, and compliments of Johnnie Walker® Blue Label®, the hours of two well known art museums are being extended in New York City and Miami. On November 15, the Museum of Contemporary Art in Miami will remain open until 10:30pm. On Thursday, November 16, the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York City will keep its doors open free to the public from 6:30 – 10:30pm.
Johnnie Walker Blue Label Traveling Art Gallery
New York City residents will get a glimpse of some well known contemporary art through The Johnnie Walker Blue Label Traveling Art Gallery that will appear in key locations throughout New York City on November 14, 15 and 16.
Johnnie Walker® Blue Label® Bottle Engraving for the Holidays
Beginning November 15th in the center atrium of the Time Warner Center at Columbus Circle, consumers will be able to have their unopened bottles of Johnnie Walker Blue Label whisky engraved for the holidays free of charge. The Johnnie Walker Blue Label egraving kiosk, which will also feature the artwork, will engrave personal inscriptions on unopened 750ml or 1.75L bottles of Johnnie Walker Blue Label. The inscriptions can be engraved in multiple languages, including English, French Spanish, Korean and Chinese. The kiosk will be open Monday – Saturday from 10 am until 9 p.m. and Sundays from 11am until 8 p.m. through January 4th, 2007.
Johnnie Walker® Blue Label® presents “Blue [Scrubs]” at the Esquire House, Los Angeles
On November 15th, in honor of the sixth season premiere of NBC’s hit comedy “[Scrubs]”, the makers of Johnnie Walker Blue Label will host an exclusive party where the show’s stars will decorate pairs of blue hospital scrubs to be auctioned off online to raise funds for the New Orleans Museum of Art’s (NOMA) Katrina Fund. Still on its way to recovery following Hurricane Katrina, NOMA houses nearly 40,000 pieces ranging from 16th century European painting and sculpture to modern American art including works from Georgia O’Keeffe, Jackson Pollock, Robert Rauschenberg and Tony Smith. The auction will begin on November 28th and run through December 6th and can be found at www.ebay.com/jwbluescrubs.
About The Whitney Museum of American Art
The Whitney Museum of American Art features houses one of the world's foremost collections of twentieth-century American art. The Permanent Collection of some 12,000 works encompasses paintings, sculptures, multimedia installations, drawings, prints, and photographs—and is still growing. Although the collection is characterized by its breadth, it is equally recognized for its in-depth commitment to the work of a number of artists and proudly displays a variety of works from Edward Hopper, Alexander Calder, John Sloan, George Luks, and Everett Shinn, to large-scale mobiles and stabiles. Other in-depth concentrations include major holdings by Marsden Hartley, Georgia O'Keeffe, Charles Burchfield, Gaston Lachaise, Louise Nevelson, and Agnes Martin.
About MOCA Miami
The MOCA Miami features a permanent collection that now numbers more than 400 works. The pieces reflect significant artistic developments in contemporary art by emerging and established artists from the U.S. and abroad including John Baldessari, Dan Flavin, Dennis Oppenheim, Alex Katz, Louise Nevelson, Gabriel Orozco, Jose Bedia and many more incredible talents. are among the artists whose works are included in the collection. Currently the MOCA is showcasing Elusive Signs: by Bruce Nauman. As one of the most influential artists living in the US today, Bruce Nauman challenges the parameters of contemporary art through his use of nontraditional materials. Nauman’s work in neon signs and fluorescent light installations from 1965-1985, explores the twists and turns of perception, logic and meaning with an earnest playfulness that characterizes his art. The exhibition will be on view during Art Basel Miami Beach.
About Johnnie Walker®
The Johnnie Walker® portfolio features five award-winning whiskies – Red Label®, Black Label®, Green Label®, Gold Label® and Blue Label® – imported and distributed in the United States by Diageo North America. BLUE LABEL® is heralded as the Rarest and Most Exclusive Blend. Released in 1992, Blue Label is the ultimate luxury Scotch Whisky and is created from the most unique and premium whiskies in the world. Blue Label is also known as the whisky for connoisseurs, and as such, each bottle is individually numbered. Suggested retail price: $180-$200 (750ml).
More than 4 bottles of Johnnie Walker whisky are consumed every second, and more than 120 million bottles are sold every year in more than 200 countries. The product line covers a broad range of occasions for the whisky drinker from every day to special moments. The five premium brands represent a range of prices and tastes that share a remarkable 180-year history and a commitment to quality. Additional information about Johnnie Walker may be found at www.johnniewalker.com.
About Diageo
Diageo (Dee-AH-Gee-O) is the world’s leading premium drinks business with an outstanding collection of beverage alcohol brands across spirits, wines, and beer categories. These brands include Johnnie Walker, Guinness, Smirnoff, J&B, Baileys, Cuervo, Tanqueray, Captain Morgan, Crown Royal, Beaulieu Vineyard and Sterling Vineyards wines.
Diageo is a global company, trading in more than 200 countries around the world. The company is listed on both the New York Stock Exchange (DEO) and the London Stock Exchange (DGE). For more information about Diageo, its people, brands, and performance, visit us at www.diageo.com.
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