‘The Gentleman’s Wager’ was released digitally around the world, and therefore avoided most local broadcast or advertising regulations.

We needed to increase sales of Blue Label, the most premium of Johnnie Walker's whiskies, in a very challenging luxury category. Following the global financial crisis, a new luxury mindset was emerging – leaving scotch looking stuffy and old fashioned.

In the world of new luxury, consumers are increasingly spending their money on experiences, not just objects.

So we wrote a story about new luxury, in an old luxury setting – which worked to unify the various perceptions of luxury in different markets around the world. It was a story of a wager, which to win, required learning and experiencing new things.

Absent an actual media buy, we had to create something that was inherently compelling, share-able, and dynamic. So to guarantee eyeballs, we studied popular culture. Everywhere we looked, from YouTube videos, to TV shows, and even Oscar winners – dance played a role in the entertainment that resonated the world over.

We approached the campaign as a short film – leveraging the power of celebrity and influencers, combined with compelling storytelling and production. We teased the film with ‘coming soon’ posters and a movie trailer. We premiered the film in cinemas, the Venice Film Festival, and at media events before releasing it online. The campaign continued in duty free activations around the world. And we developed a unique partnership with Mr. Porter, which allowed viewers to further engage and shop the look.

While ‘going viral’ is never guaranteed, we specifically designed the content piece to be compelling and share-able. By understanding the power of dance as a global cultural phenomenon in the world of entertainment, through careful casting choices, and via a focus on craft and storytelling – we ensured ‘The Gentleman’s Wager’ would be universally appealing around the world, drawing our audience into our story.

Additionally, we treated the run-up to the release like a film campaign – teasing it with ‘coming soon’ posters, a movie trailer, a limited cinema release, and engagement with the right partners, including the Venice Film Festival and Mr. Porter.

The campaign achieved 45 million views globally, and 1 million engagements on the Mr. Porter site experience. Additionally, the film took us to the #1 position on the Mashable viral video chart with 120,000 shares, and garnered significant press coverage at both a local and global level – ranging from Harpers to Vogue to Variety.

In Australia, sales increased by 48%, resulting in a positive ROI of 1.8. And in India, sales increased by 25%, resulting in a positive ROI of 1.3.

To truly move the needle for Johnnie Walker Blue Label, we had to meaningful reach our global ‘new luxury’ audience outside the world of traditional advertising. After a deep dive into analyzing some of the most shared content and entertainment across the worlds of digital, television, and Hollywood, we decided to create a 6-minute short film as our centerpiece – supported by a communications strategy that focused on leaning into the entertainment world (e.g. the Venice Film Festival) and key partnerships (e.g. Mr. Porter).