Bottomless Brunch at Colman’s started as a way to virtually bring people together during the pandemic and evolved into an ongoing content franchise. We collaborated with Fear the Walking Dead star (and secretly amazing bartender!) Colman Domingo to reach fans everywhere with season 3 of Bottomless Brunch at Colman’s – bottomless because pants are optional! Tied to cultural milestones throughout the year, our charming host invited viewers over for a virtual Sunday brunch along with his friends like Patti LaBelle, Regina King, and more.

The objective for this campaign was to drive brand affinity for Diageo and their portfolio of alcohol brands by aligning with authentic conversation moments. We knew our host, Colman Domingo, was the perfect match for Diageo’s brands due to his passion for mixology, storytelling, connecting people, and, of course, brunch.

When the pandemic hit, feelings of isolation became a universal problem. Routines were shattered and people were longing for some joy in the familiar. Nobody knew how much they would miss the little things until they were gone…little things like brunch. With Bottomless Brunch at Colman’s, we wanted to bring those fun, lively brunch conversations back into people’s lives. A special gathering meant for relaxing, enjoying a cocktail and great food, and long conversations that range from appreciating simple joys to tackling deeper discussions. The charismatic and ever-fashionable Colman Domingo was the perfect host to bring his friends together to achieve that connection that had been lost. Like with most brunches, conversations started with life updates and shared histories, and evolved into thoughts and opinions on culture, society and personal stories connecting to certain cultural moments. The initial goal and eventual outcome was to bring joy from togetherness.

The approach to creating Bottomless Brunch at Colman’s was to take advantage of the natural talent, smarts, and charisma of Colman Domingo. There was no shortage of topics that Colman could tackle with knowledge and grace and we knew he would keep his guests comfortable and really foster important conversations. Pairing his liveliness and passion for cocktails with outstanding guests and themes ensured the program would not only produce great content but create a meaningful impact on the people who needed it.

This partnership included a fully integrated season of Bottomless Brunch at Colman’s – with six episodes rolled out weekly across our social and digital platforms. Each episode included a segment where Colman walks his guest through the step-by-step instructions to create the perfect cocktail featuring Diageo brands that tie to that episode’s theme.

We were able to drive excitement around the series by creating six cross-net linear drivers pushing viewers to check out full episodes on social. In addition, custom Instagram Story content was developed, driving fans to watch that week’s episode and a “swipe up” to shop that week’s Diageo cocktail recipe. We were able to expand our distribution with a companion podcast series that gave fans behind the scenes moments and never before heard conversations with the biggest celebrity guests throughout the season.

Season Three of Bottomless Brunch at Colman’s generated 875K+ engagements, 1.8M video views and 24M+ impressions. The campaign also earned nearly 4x higher engagement than Diageo’s owned social posts YTD and overall, had 50% higher engagement than S2.