Martell starts £20m youth drive

Seagram Spirits & Wine is launching a £20m global advertising campaign in an attempt to target its cognac brand Martell at a younger, trendier consumer.

Seagram Spirits & Wine is launching a &£20m global advertising campaign in an attempt to target its cognac brand Martell at a younger, trendier consumer.

The global advertising campaign created by TBWA Worldwide will roll out in the UK at the end of the year. The advertising features a stylish French woman called Martell who dresses in couture outfits from Prada, Gucci, Versace and Yves Saint Laurent.

The ads will span television, radio, print and posters with the straplines “I am Martell” and “Meet Martell”.

The repositioning will be supported by a website based around the Martell character which launches next week. Visitors to the site can visit Martell’s apartment, check out her social calendar, download wallpaper and send and receive messages.

A Seagram spokeswoman says the campaign is “a radical departure from traditional cognac advertising” and aims to promote Martell as the drink of choice for today’s young trendy professionals.

“Increasingly people are choosing their drinks by brands rather than categories and we want Martell to be the choice for the style-conscious happening type of consumers at the heart of the market targeted by brands like Absolut.”

She says of the Martell character: “We have positioned her as a living embodiment of Martell and she is meant to be free-spirited, independent and slightly mysterious.”

Seagram is also rolling out its Bulleit Bourbon in the UK on- and off-trade markets this week, with a global multimedia advertising campaign planned for early next year.