Taste is core to the cognac category. It defines the liquid, is revered and celebrated by connoisseurs, and is the mark of excellence and quality. Yet taste is a convention for cognac marketing, with few brands able to effectively communicate or differentiate the notes and effects that make cognac so unique. In a sea of sameness, Rémy Martin wanted to celebrate its commitment to excellence and the distinctive flavor profile of its product, yet wanted to avoid the tropes and stereotypes that muddled the category. The launch of brand partner Usher’s Las Vegas Residency and the 25th anniversary of his debut album was a tentpole moment for the brand, but we needed a breakthrough idea that demonstrated the brand’s commitment to excellence while differentiating from category tropes and expectations.

As AI technology was gaining mainstream traction as a way of turning words into images, we saw an opportunity to illustrate something different and showcase our product–its signature features and design–in a new way.

In other words, to make the invisible, visible and the intangible a reality.

Leveraging AI technology and descriptions of Rémy Martin 1738 from musician and brand spokesman Usher, we designed a Limited Edition that illustrates the taste of Rémy’s iconic product. Using Generative Adversarial Neural Networks and Contrastive Language–Image Pre-Training–tools that translate words into images–we turned Usher’s words into a first of its kind design that put taste front and center on the product and packaging.

The new look bottle was promoted with a video clip, outdoor and social presence during usher residency in Las Vegas.

We reached an astounding audience upon launch, garnering 485k engagements for an engagement rate of 6.20% during the campaign’s run. Our earned media included 140 articles, 380m+ views across channels and 3.7b+ impressions. Most importantly though, the USHER X AI LTE Bottle sold out in 2 seconds

We used Usher’s prompts as a baseline, using 4 of his descriptions as prompts, and feeding them through multiple visual AI creation platforms databases with over 400 million images. We explored expanding certain words and feelings with more descriptive language to bolster Usher’s tasting notes. Through multiple rounds of prompts and results, we then further art directed the AI-created art to generate our final target of 4 images and had our team of artists and designers create original artwork that was inspired by the raw results, using digital tools augmented with additional layers of processing.

Additionally, the bottles were exclusively sold on BlockBar, a digital distribution platform for limited edition and rare spirits, as an NFT, allowing the buyer to store information securely on the blockchain, receive a physical bottle, or actively resell on the marketplace.