Brown-Forman’s biggest ad campaign ever: Fruity flavor helps juice Jack Daniel’s
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Brown-Forman launches its largest global campaign to restore Jack Daniel’s share.
- Company debuts Jack Daniel’s Tennessee Blackberry with TikTok takeover and activations.
- Blackberry lifted Jack family sales above distilled spirits and spurred global rollouts.
Kentucky spirits company Brown-Forman has bet big on bringing back Jack. And they’ve given Old No. 7 a new sidekick that is showing up on TikTok and at tailgates.
At an Oct. 15 investors’ conference in Tennessee, CEO Lawson Whiting and other executives showed off their new global brand campaign, “That’s What Makes Jack, JACK,” voiced by the compelling and readily identifiable Jeff Bridges.
It’s the most expensive campaign in the company’s history, they said, designed to refocus the world on the number one American whiskey brand in the world, which had been losing market share at a very inopportune time.
Drinking as a whole is down in the U.S.; drinking American whiskey is down and, most importantly, drinking of Jack Daniel’s Tennessee Whiskey is down, something that seemed impossible just a few years ago.
Where new Jack Daniel’s campaign is landing
The new campaign is flooding consumers across all channels, from TV and movies to social media platforms, YouTube and non-traditional buying spaces including online point of purchase marketing. There are race car and music sponsorships and events such as concerts with Shaboozey in New York.
And to support the ingénue of the brand family, Brown-Forman went in a new direction: The August introduction of the new Jack Daniel’s Tennessee Blackberry was accompanied by the first-ever TikTok takeover by a spirits company.
That drove more than 9.7 million influencer and social impressions, with videos showcasing Tennessee Blackberry drinks to win your football tailgate this fall.
Impact of Tennessee Blackberry
There are signs that all this attention to the new flavor is paying off: The company did not report any sales specifics yet but said Blackberry’s distribution has already passed two of its other flavor extensions, Tennessee Fire and Tennessee Apple, and is closing in on Tennessee Honey, which is 2 million-case brand globally.
Early testing shows consumers found it “modern,” “fresh” and “exciting.”
The brand has just gone live in the United Kingdom and Germany, two major American whiskey markets, and Whiting said they are seeing “very strong results” so far.
The company sees it as a “scalable innovation” that they think can take off around the world. It’s expected to be huge in Brazil, which is the top international market for Jack Daniel’s flavored whiskies, according to Brown-Forman.
According to data presented to Wall Street analysts who also had a chance to taste it for themselves, it’s already made a significant difference: Blackberry has pulled the Jack Daniel’s Family of Brands out of the red.
Since the launch, sales of the Jack Daniel’s family of brands have spiked above the sales of distilled spirits in general, the company said.
