Jim Beam brings back Mila Kunis after seeing a 43% sales spike

Jim Beam is launching a second Mila Kunis ad in an effort to reach the expanding number of 18-34 whisky drinkers in the UK after seeing 43% growth in the year following the launch of its “Make History” campaign.

The TV spot, which launches on Sunday, will show Mila branding Jim Beam barrels in an effort to celebrate the craftsmanship of bourbon and the “quality of the liquid”, according to the brand, which is aged for twice as long as the law requires for a Kentucky straight bourbon.

The bourbon brand first tapped Kunis as a global partner and spokesperson when it launched its “Make History” campaign last year, the first global marketing push for Jim Beam which, according to the brand, was a success that it hopes to replicate this year.

Peter Sandstrom, marketing director for Maxxium UK, Jim Beam’s marketer and distributor, told Marketing Week: “The advertising campaign has worked extremely well for us and has given Jim Beam a voice in the UK. We’re seeing a new generation of whisky drinkers and we’re capitalising on that.”

He says that Kunis provides the perfect opportunity to reach the brand’s target 18-34 age group, with 70% of its current drinkers under 44, according to the brand.

However, he adds that Jim Beam will continue to target the total whisky market, which is more about a “lifestyle and a mindset than an age group”, according to the brand.

The Make History campaign will be promoted through “well-focused, targeted” VOD, on-trade, retail and cinema activity, as well as an experiential event in London in April, which Sandstrom says will be similar to what consumers saw last year.

In addition to the year-on-year growth, the brand also says it has seen its consumer base increase by 34% in the last two years.

Sandstrom says that Jim Beam is now driving bourbon distribution in retail and the on-trade.

He adds that Maxxium will also look to push its premium products in the market this year, with the launch of two new products as well as a push of its other premium brands which include the likes of Maker’s Mark, The Famous Grouse and Canadian Club.

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