Here comes the lady scotch…
With every step, we all move forward
This week a fresh and interesting campaign draw our attention. Johnnie Walker is launching The Jane Walker Edition and introduces us a female version of its iconic logo to support gender equality and also reach out to more female drinkers. The Jane Walker campaign is the latest part of the brand’s “Keep Walking America” push, which began in 2016. The campaign is a way to approach a broader audience and the company definitely succeeded its own goal and aspiration.
The campaign includes limited edition bottles, which will be available in the US from March. However, launching coincides, purposely, on Women’s History Month and International Women’s Day celebrations. In particular the company decided to celebrate these events by donating $1 for each bottle produced to nonprofit campaigns like Monumental Women, and She Should Run, a group which encourages women to register and run for elected office. Specifically, Diageo will donate up to $150,000 to Monumental Women and an unspecified amount to She Should Run.
Indeed Johnnie Walker has proved that it supports gender equality and always tries to be a step forward by its campaigns and ads. Every advertising move can be considered as humanfocus and communicating an insight which leads the audience to engage with the brand. Stephanie Jacoby, the Vice-President of Johnnie Walker, is referring to the reason behind their choice : “Important conversations about gender continue to be at the forefront of culture and we strongly believe there is no better time than now to introduce our Jane Walker icon and contribute to pioneering organizations that share our mission. We are proud to toast the many achievements of women and everyone on the journey towards progress in gender equality,”
The creative Jane Walker campaign coincides not only with Women’s History Month and Women’s Day as said, but also with the recent Time’s Up movement, which was founded on January 1, 2018. The Time’s Up movement was established by Hollywood celebrities and it stands against sexual harassment in response to the Weinstein effect and #MeToo. Until February 2018 it has raised $20 million and has gathered around 200 volunteer lawyers. The movement is also supported by many famous celebrities, and it has been propagated all over Instagram, it even has its own account.
The Jane Walker edition is represented all over social media, especially via Twitter and Instagram, and the public’s reactions varied. The idea of the campaign created enthusiasm and appealed to many people. Their reactions where positive, as many people said that now with the new edition women have finally their own scotch, along with their own bottle. Nonetheless, there were a few negative responses to the company’s idea. Another group of scotch drinkers was opposed to the idea of Jane Walker and turned against the campaign, stating that women already drunk scotch equally as men, with no need to have a “female-friendly bottle of scotch”.
Despite the few negative responses the campaign took, as a team we stand up for Diageo’s campaign, the Jane Walker edition, not only because of its creativity, but also because of its cause and its goal to raise money and donate them to the nonprofit campaigns of Monumental Women and She Should Run, which fight for women’s rights and gender equality.
Marketminds: Marianna Renesi Emmanuel Kavarnos Orestis Kapsis
Lina Kiriakou Betty Tsakarestou
