Diageo Korea launches latest K-culture-focused responsible drinking campaign

Diageo is again tapping into the popularity of K-culture (South Korean culture) to drive awareness of responsible drinking, this time through K-dance.

Following on from last year’s successful DRINKiQ campaign, which leveraged the power of K-pop, Diageo is teaming up with K-dance group “WE DEM BOYZ” for the “Dance Freely, Drink Responsibly” campaign.

K-dance is a huge part of Korean culture and is a key part of the overall global K-pop craze, due to its use of choreographed dances, and the “dance crews” that front it. According to British music magazine NME, the K-pop industry had 12.6 billion global streams in 2024, a 10.5% increase from the previous year¹.

While last year's campaign showcased an original K-pop song and music video, this year the Diageo team decided to introduce a more interactive K-dance challenge, to drive engagement with consumers.

The campaign features an original song from which “WE DEM BOYZ” have created a video dance performance, as well as a tutorial video. It also shows behind-the-scenes footage that emphasises the importance of “dancing freely, while drinking responsibly.” These assets will drive awareness amongst adult consumers across the Asia Pacific region, of the importance of moderation.

Through messaging in the song and video, the campaign will seek to drive consumers to DRINKiQ.com, a Diageo owned consumer facing website that aims to empower more people to make informed drinking choices while fostering a culture of enjoying alcohol responsibly.

Consumers who want to take part can upload their version of the dance to both Instagram and YouTube with the hashtag #DanceFreelyDrinkResponsibly (#춤은자유롭게음주는책임있게) to promote the challenge.

Prathmesh Mishra, Managing Director, Diageo Korea and Japan, said: “What's the hottest trend sweeping the world right now? For me, it's K-culture. From music to dance, K-culture continues to captivate audiences globally, and K-dance is leading the way. That’s why we are excited to collaborate with WE DEM BOYZ for this year’s DRINKiQ campaign. By combining the vibrant energy of K-dance with the message of responsible drinking, our “Dance Freely, Drink Responsibly” initiative encourages people to make mindful choices while celebrating life every day, everywhere.

“As the world’s leading premium drinks company, we always aim to inspire a responsible drinking lifestyle. And in this case that is embracing the art of fine drinking and moderation through fun and engaging content that is infused with K-culture.”

Last March’s “Enjoy The Flow, Savour Every Moment” campaign, saw Diageo teaming up with a well-known K-pop star to spread the responsible consumption message to markets across the Asia Pacific region.

Within a week of launch, over five million people had viewed the campaign and by the end of the campaign period it had reached more than 42 million consumers across South Korea, Singapore, Taiwan, Japan, Indonesia, the Philippines and Vietnam.

Diageo is committed to transforming global drinking habits for the better, promoting moderation, and addressing the harmful use of alcohol. This commitment is integral to Diageo's 10-year sustainability plan, Society 2030: Spirit of Progress, that aims to educate consumers on facts about alcohol and reach one billion people with moderation messages by 2030.

¹ https://www.nme.com/news/music/k-pop-album-sales-stagnate-in-2024-as-streaming-grows-3830618

See also:

• Diageo partners with global K-pop star SUHO
• Diageo, MADD, NFL and Uber team up to launch “Take a Minute, Make a Plan”