Persuading a younger audience to engage with Scotch whisky

Client

PMK BNC for Diageo

Brief

Re-invent Diageo’s ‘Love Scotch’ campaign.

The problem

Scotch whisky is weighed down with heritage – it’s seen as your dad’s drink, or worse, your grandad’s. Diageo command over 50% of the market, so they created the ‘Love Scotch’ campaign to attract a younger audience to the category.

Insight

The original ‘Love Scotch’ logo was generic, but more significantly, the messaging was didactic – no-one likes to be told what to do, what to drink or how to feel.

Approach

The hashtag was re-focussed as ‘She Loves Scotch’, making it an observation, not an order. All the content was then devoted to just one idea, that of ‘Independent thinking.’ The logo was re-drawn as a modern, phone-friendly mark.

Outcomes

This work presented Scotch as a forward looking lifestyle – more like beer, less like a traditional spirit. Outdoor posters and a stream of social content would encourage the audience to think, ‘I’ll have what she’s having’. Combined, these ideas create the most important motivation for a younger audience – social proof.