Martini boosts range with multimillion pound ad push

Bacardi-Martini is launching three multimillion pound campaigns for its Martini vermouth brand and two of the new generation of Martini pre-mixed drinks, Martini Citro and Martini V2, through HHCL & Partners this week.

A £2.5m sponsorship of ITV’s new season of 18 James Bond movies cements the historic relationship between 007 and the “shaken not stirred” Martini Vermouth. “If any brand was to sponsor Bond, it would have to be Martini,” says Andy Thompson, sponsorship director for Carlton, who negotiated the deal with Universal McCann group TV buying director Andy Jones.

Meanwhile, a £4m TV and cinema ad campaign for Martini V2 launches on Wednesday. It updates the classic British film, The Italian Job, and features a group of lads getting away with a theft of V2 in their Mini Coopers.

The ad campaign for Martini Citro features a group of sassy young women following the orders of a grizzled sea captain and diving for sponges when, in fact, below the surface of the sea lies an action-packed Citro bar. The strapline “A woman’s place is in the bar” aims to sum up the brand’s cheeky and chic positioning.