Quantcast
Marklives.com

Marklives.com

Covering Africa's changing media, marketing and advertising landscape.

  • Home
  • Sections
    • Adland
    • Media
    • Marketing
    • S’HOT
    • Tech
    • Archive
  • Columns
    • #Agency/BrandFocus – Sabrina Forbes
    • Agency Leaders – Most Admired Poll
    • An Accountant in Adland – Siwe Thusi
    • Back2Basics – Mark Eardley
    • Big Q – MarkLives Panel
    • Big Reads on MarkLives
    • Brands & Branding – Affinity Publishing
    • #Campaigns – MarkLives
    • Circulation Data – ABC Analysis
    • Clicks ‘n Tricks – Charlie Stewart
    • Dear Radio – Paulo Dias
    • Fair Exchange – Erna George
    • FieldNotes – Marguerite Coetzee
    • Frank – Mimi Nicklin
    • Gestalt – Leeya Hendricks
    • Hermaneutics – Herman Manson
    • #Marketers – MarkLives
    • Masterclass Notes – Johanna McDowell
    • Media Redefined – Martin MacGregor
    • Motive – By Invitation Only
    • Press Pass – Carey Finn
    • Q5 – Carey Finn
    • South African TV Ratings
    • #SPOTLIGHT – MarkLives
    • The Suit – Jason Harrison
    • The Martini Shot – Bobby Amm
    • The Power Report – Megan Power
    • Thinking B2B – Warren Moss
    • Young, Gifted & Killing It – Veli Ngubane
    • Zeitgeist of Now – Jason Stewart
  • Find an Agency
    • Shortlist & Compare Agencies
    • List your Agency
    • List as Agency Supplier/Service
    • Register as a Marketer
    • Company News Feed
    • Upgrade to Ramify Premium
    • RamifyPRO
    • Add Premium to Cart
  • Data
    • Agency Revenue Rankings 2019
    • Agency Salary Survey
    • Biggest SA consumer magazines
    • Biggest newspapers in SA
    • The 50 most-valuable brands in SA
    • Top 50 SA advertisers 2016
    • South African TV Ratings
  • Careers
    • Advertising
    • Digital
    • Marketing
    • Media
    • Public Relations
    • View All
  • About
    • About & Contact
    • Advertise
    • Privacy Policy
    • Partners

Ad of the Week: Meet your match — a matter of taste

  •   Apr 23, 2014
  •   0

by Oresti Patricios (@orestaki) It’s been a weird week in advertising, what with ‘that’ DA ad being banned and then unbanned – after the Streisand effect gave it far more attention than was probably ever hoped for.

However, it was a very classy campaign from Johnny Walker that caught my eye. It’s a brand that has a lot of traction, and we’ve looked at the “Keep Walking” campaign before, but this felt like a case of getting back to basics and really getting customers to look at the product in a new way.


  • Want to view all the Ads of the Week at a glance? See our #AdoftheWeek Pinterest board!

King James & Punk for Johnny Walker: “Meet Your Match”

 Whisky is the best selling spirit in the world, and whether your taste is for Irish or Scotch, single malt or blend, there’s an air of sophistication that the various brands have managed to build up around the product. Unlike cane spirit, brandy or rum, whisky is marketed as a drink for connoisseurs.

Building on this, Johnny Walker’s agency, King James, along with its digital division, Punk, have plugged into the trend of customisation with this campaign. It’s a campaign that focuses on individual taste, and the fact that there are actually four different types of whisky under the Johnny Walker label.

The King of Flavour Whisky ProfilerSo which one is for you? To answer that question, Johnny Walker invited well-known molecular gastronomic chef, David Higgs, to create a  ‘taste test’ in order to profile four very different South Africans: rugby hero Bob Skinstad, architect/design guru Mokena Makeka, TV presenter Jeannie D and radio host DJ Fresh. Instead of blindfolding them, Higgs used his culinary wizardry to disguise and re-engineer the various ingredients. This way the test subjects were forced to keep an open mind about what they were putting in their mouths.

The video segment shows all four being taken through the process, and their reactions. The voice over by Higgs describes how he approached the challenge. “What we tend to forget is that everybody’s palate is different,” he explains, adding: “It’s really all about opinion and personal taste. So how do you force a whisky—or anything for that matter—onto someone?”

The King of Flavour Whisky ProfilerUsing the profile of each person, Higgs and the Johnny Walker people then were able to assign one of the four whiskies to each test candidate. The final ‘reveal’ – which resembles a tense moment from one of those food competition reality shows – matches up each celebrity with their label.

The filming of this ad is really beautiful. Most of the clothing and the décor is black. The food preparations look mind-blowing, presented as they are with a sort of zen-like simplicity. The lighting is subdued and warm, lending a sense of luxury to the environment. The sound-track is really spot-on: starting with a laid back electronic piece that bursts into a guitar-driven anthem as each celebrity is shown their ‘match’.

The final sequence is of each celebrity on a black leather seat, holding their whisky, with the brand label in gold supered over. The final shot is of what you might call an ‘everyman’ guy in the same black leather chair, but without a whisky in his hand, and the text: “What are you?” – followed by the URL: www.meetyourmatchsa.co.za.

The King of Flavour Whisky ProfilerVisit the site and you’ll be presented with a short video featuring David Higgs once again, but addressing the camera. He invites you to find your personal match, using your computer and visual stimuli.

The test takes you through various beautiful screens. The first has images which depict different moods, from “feeling mellow” to “celebratory”. Next come 3 flavours you have to choose, such as cherries, chocolate, sherry and orange rind. Then you have to choose 3 aromas, including smoke, cut flowers and vanilla. The fourth screen asks you to select your environment from places such as “at home”, “VIP” or “bar”. Then you have to choose your serving, such as rocks, straight, cocktail, or ginger ale. As you mouse over each beautiful picture, a sound-effect plays, so it really feels like an interactive experience.

Having gone through all your choices, a video of Higgs will tell you your personal ‘match’ in terms of Johnnie Walker label. The page features all your choices, along with a sound-track to match. In the video, Higgs invites you to click on a link called “Your Pairings” which is a suggestion of cocktails and meals that would suit this particular whisky.

The King of Flavour Whisky ProfilerHe also invites you to share it on Facebook where you stand in line to get an invitation to an event where you will get a personal flavour profiling from Higgs himself. The Facebook page has close on 9 million ‘likes’ – not bad considering it’s a South African page.

Having Higgs as a guide makes the entire experience engaging and strangely personal. Even though you’re interacting with your computer, you feel like there is a certain connection. Higgs is unassuming and likeable, and there is no ‘hard sell’ – it’s all about you, the consumer – what your preferences are, what kind of person you are.

It’s a really smart way of interacting with customers and potential customers, making them feel special, and educating them about the product.

Great concept, great execution, and as classy as a glass of JW Black.

Oresti PatriciosAd of the Week, published on MarkLives every Wednesday, is penned by Oresti Patricios (@orestaki), the CEO of Ornico, a Brand Intelligence® firm that focuses on media, reputation and brand research.


If you are involved in making advertising that is smart, funny and/or engaging,
please let Oresti know about it at info@ornicogroup.co.za.


 

— MarkLives’ round-up of top ad and media industry news and opinion in your mailbox every three work days. Sign up here!

Share this:

  • Print
  • Email
  • WhatsApp
  • Tweet

Related

Columns

  • #Agency/BrandFocus – Sabrina Forbes
    #Agency/BrandFocus – Sabrina Forbes
  • #Campaigns – MarkLives
    #Campaigns – MarkLives
  • #SPOTLIGHT – MarkLives
    #SPOTLIGHT – MarkLives
  • Agency Leaders – Most Admired Poll
    Agency Leaders – Most Admired Poll
  • Always Learning – Kirsten Dewar
    Always Learning – Kirsten Dewar
  • An Accountant in Adland – Siwe Thusi
    An Accountant in Adland – Siwe Thusi
  • Back2Basics – Mark Eardley
    Back2Basics – Mark Eardley
  • Big Q – MarkLives Panel
    Big Q – MarkLives Panel
  • Big Reads on MarkLives
    Big Reads on MarkLives
  • Brands & Branding – Affinity Publishing
    Brands & Branding – Affinity Publishing
  • By Invitation Only – Motive
    By Invitation Only – Motive
  • Circulation Data – ABC Analysis
    Circulation Data – ABC Analysis
  • Clicks ’n Tricks – Charlie Stewart
    Clicks ’n Tricks – Charlie Stewart
  • Dear Radio – Paulo Dias
    Dear Radio – Paulo Dias
  • Extracts — Excerpts from books & research
    Extracts — Excerpts from books & research
  • Fair Exchange – Erna George
    Fair Exchange – Erna George
  • FieldNotes – Marguerite Coetzee
    FieldNotes – Marguerite Coetzee
  • Frank – Mimi Nicklin
    Frank – Mimi Nicklin
  • Gestalt – Leeya Hendricks
    Gestalt – Leeya Hendricks
  • Hermaneutics – Herman Manson
    Hermaneutics – Herman Manson
  • Masterclass Notes – Johanna McDowell
    Masterclass Notes – Johanna McDowell
  • Media Design/MagLove – Archive
    Media Design/MagLove – Archive
  • Media Redefined – Martin MacGregor
    Media Redefined – Martin MacGregor
  • Only Connect Podcast – Bradley Elliott
    Only Connect Podcast – Bradley Elliott
  • Press Pass – Carey Finn
    Press Pass – Carey Finn
  • Q5 – Carey Finn
    Q5 – Carey Finn
  • South African TV Ratings
    South African TV Ratings
  • The Martini Shot – Bobby Amm
    The Martini Shot – Bobby Amm
  • The Power Report – Megan Power
    The Power Report – Megan Power
  • The Suit – Jason Harrison
    The Suit – Jason Harrison
  • Thinking B2B – Warren Moss
    Thinking B2B – Warren Moss
  • Young, Gifted & Killing It – Veli Ngubane
    Young, Gifted & Killing It – Veli Ngubane
  • Zeitgeist of Now – Jason Stewart
    Zeitgeist of Now – Jason Stewart
  • View All
  • Digital Project Manager: Marketing Technology
    Dec 9, 2019
  • Digital Media Planner
    Dec 5, 2019
  • Programmatic Media Trader
    Dec 5, 2019
  • Account Director/ Senior Account Manager
    Dec 5, 2019
  • Graphic Designer
    Dec 5, 2019
  • Managing Director – Youth Marketing
    Dec 3, 2019
  • Strategist
    Dec 3, 2019
  • Copywriter (Bryanston)
    Dec 3, 2019
  • SNR TTL Art Director
    Dec 2, 2019
  • Managing Director: Youth Agency
    Dec 2, 2019
  • Comments are closed.

    Related News

    #Agency/BrandFocus – Sabrina Forbes, Columns, Featured, Marketing, Watch Johnnie Walker Facebook cover video screengrab

    #BrandFocus: Keep walking, the South African way

    Jun 10, 2019
    Columns, Featured, Media Design/MagLove – Archive, S'HOT MarkLives Media Design 24 August 2018

    Media Design: Counterpoint, Mariano Pascual, Punk, The New Yorker

    Aug 24, 2018
    Adland, Featured, Hermaneutics – Herman Manson Alistair King & James Barty with KJ20 logo

    The kings, James & Al, on trebling agency in last decade

    Jul 11, 2018
    Facebook
    Like us on Facebook
    Twitter
    Follow us on Twitter
    Google Plus
    Add us on Google Plus
    YouTube
    Join us on YouTube
    Pinterest
    Follow us on Pinterest
    Subscribe Newsletter

    Get our round-up of top ad and media industry news every Monday and Thursday.

    Useful Links

    • About & Contact
    • Comment Policy
    • Advertise
    • Partners

    Partner

    loading Cancel
    Post was not sent - check your email addresses!
    Email check failed, please try again
    Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email.