LAPHROAIG - OPINIONS WELCOME
Culture · Brand Platform · Global · 2014–2020
A divisive taste turned into a global brand platform. Six years. One idea.
Client: Beam Suntory / White Label UK Year: 2014–2020 Market: Global Role: Art Director
+22% US Sales in 6 Months
2.3M Video Views
45M+ Impressions
#2 Best-Selling Scotch 2019
Launch Ad
Laphroaig Single Malt peated whisky from Islay. The most richly flavoured Scotch whisky in the world. It's a complex beast; even our closest friends describe us in seemingly disparaging terms before saying, 'They love us!'
The Problem
Laphroaig's intensely polarising flavour was seen as a barrier. The brand needed to reposition that divisiveness as a strength, celebrating opinions, driving trial, and breaking through whisky marketing clichés without losing the authenticity that made Laphroaig what it was.
The Thinking
Intense first-sip reactions aren't a problem; they're the product. Every strong opinion, positive or negative, is proof the whisky means something. Embracing polarisation could increase engagement and authenticity in a category full of safe, heritage-led storytelling.
The Idea
Build a content engine showcasing real user opinions across advertising, social, packaging, and experiential activations turning every reaction into brand equity. A microsite for live consumer submissions. Seasonal extensions. Real reviews printed on barrels, distillery walls, and billboards. A global toolkit that scaled the idea across every market.
My Role
Art direction across the full campaign system from the hero compositions and global toolkit to the interactive opinion hub, packaging design, TV spots, and experiential activations. The "Big Opinions" event projected real-time Twitter views onto the 200-year-old walls of Laphroaig's Warehouse No. 1 in Islay.
What This Proves
The strongest brand platforms don't hide what makes a product divisive; they make it the whole point. One insight, executed consistently over six years, took Laphroaig from niche to the #2 best-selling Scotch in the world.
Tags
Culture · Brand Platform · Global Scale · Experiential · Integrated Campaigns · Long-Term Brand Building
Awards
Gold PIAF (2015) – Audience Engagement
Advertising Strategy of the Year – The Drum Marketing Awards (2015)
Best Social Media Campaign – Drinks Business Awards (2016)
Shorty Awards – Wine/Spirits Category + Audience Honor
Credits
Account Director: Emily Thoubboron
Program Manager: Chris Cassell
Senior Associate Director: Sophie Knight
Co-founder & Creative Director: Greg Saunders
Co-founder: Drew Shannon
Art Director: Matthew Swan
Freelance Art Director: Chloe Batchelor
The hero composition of the advert, we leverged as a holder for customer reviews.
NYC Post campaign leveraging our toolkit created.
Hero wall art mockup, not activated but used for pitch material.
Lightbox billboards: this layout was used on Facebook adverts across global regions.
The interactive hub at Laphroaig.com/opinions featured real-time user submissions and a live “Opinion Wall.”
A campaign global toolkit was created, from how to create the typography lockups and ads through to all creative touchpoints for Opinions Welcome.
Clippings from the TV spot we created as a pilot version that scaled across the globe.
The reviews made it to the actual distillery; this is the peat furnace wall in Islay.
The reviews feature on-case barrels and were used on social media.
Big Opinions: lucky customers had their reviews written on the wall of the distillery.
Big Opinions ran from 11-15 October, displaying real-time Twitter views from around the world onto the 200-year-old white walls of Laphroaig’s Warehouse No 1.
Big Opinions ran from 11-15 October, displaying real-time Twitter views from around the world onto the 200-year-old white walls of Laphroaig’s Warehouse No 1.