Diageo pushes Smirnoff as a mixer brand

Diageo is launching a new campaign for Smirnoff, which for the first time will see it being promoted as a mixer brand. The £4m campaign, created by JWT, will include television, print, digital and outdoor advertising plus an in-store programme.

The new campaign, to break this month, will be in conjunction with Coca-Cola-owned Schweppes Canada Dry ginger ale. It will show how to make a Moscow Mule with Smirnoff poured in an ice-filled glass topped with the ginger ale and a wedge of fresh lime.

The ad is set in the “Smirnoff Bros” circus where trapeze artists mix the extraordinary Smirnoff Moscow Mule whilst undertaking incredible acrobatics. Additional activity will include press advertising, sampling, digital PR support, and Schweppes will be launching its own Moscow Mule outdoor advertising campaign.

Activity in the off-trade will include a point of sale leaflet called “Mix an Extraordinary Moscow Mule at Home” and a value added pack that includes a 70cl bottle of Smirnoff No. 21 vodka, two cans of Schweppes Canada Dry ginger ale and an on-pack cocktail guide.

Chris Lock, marketing manager for Smirnoff, says: “Research has shown that many consumers lack the knowledge and tools to make great spirit-based drinks at home, therefore dissuading them from buying spirits. By providing consumers with easy solutions to make drinks such as the Moscow Mule across the spirits category, we believe this could add as much as £105m incremental profit to the category.”