How Passport Scotch Can Revive An Old Man’s Drink

If you think Scotch is for old men, it’s not your fault. The entire category is so strongly associated with ageing, maturity, age claims, and rules and rituals of drinking it, that it has come to be seen as a drink for old men in dank bars with stuffy manners.

Well, Passport Scotch Whisky from Seagram was meant to change all that and in the nifty nineties, it did make quite a splash. Then, for some unknown reason it seems to have receded into the background, and I am not sure it was due to the Pernod Ricard acquisition of Seagram’s brands. Having worked on Passport Scotch during my second stint at Ogilvy Delhi in the ’90s, I think it’s time to spruce up the brand with a sharper strategy and campaign, as the numbers of young drinkers grow and so are their brand choices.

Here are my thoughts and ideas on the brand strategy and brand campaign across a range of media and communication disciplines. You may read them by clicking the link below.

brand-strategy-and-ideas-for-passport-scotch

The scripts for the TV adverts which will lead the campaign are in the document above. I have created layouts for the print campaign to appear in international newspapers and magazines read by our target consumer, though I am not a designer or art director. You may view the campaign by clicking the link below.

passport-scotch-whisky-print-campaign

I think that Passport Scotch needs to use the digital medium as well, since the target audience is likely to be using it quite heavily. Here then, is my digital campaign for Passport Scotch Whisky, which is on the same subjects as the print campaign, but has an added element of interest through the visual treatment of drinks glasses. As I say in the document, they would make interesting out-of-home advertising as well, at airport lounges and bars.

I have suggested other ideas for Passport Scotch in the document, including how to use direct response marketing and PR for the brand. These will use the digital medium as well.

Here’s hoping Passport Scotch will be globetrotting its way to success within a decade and giving J&B Scotch and Black & White drinkers something to think about. It will also help consumers trade up to other brands in Chivas Brothers and The Glenlivet franchise as well as keep Pernod Ricard’s corporate brand image contemporary.