“Truth in Vodka”— Coming to a Taxi Top Near You
Imperial Brands, the U.S. importer and marketer of Sobieski Vodka, unveiled a multi-million dollar integrated marketing campaign that brings its Iconic “Truth in Vodka” campaign to out-of-home, digital, and print elements through the end of the year.
The campaign kicked off with a four-week, out-of-home plan designed to reach trade and consumers in New York City; Chicago; Detroit; Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Diego and Sacramento, California; Dallas, Houston and Austin, Texas; Miami and Orlando, Florida; Atlanta; Phoenix; and Albany, Syracuse and Buffalo, NY. In addition, the plan includes placements on Metro North trains, running on the New Haven line between Grand Central Station and the Connecticut suburbs.
“Sobieski proudly differentiates itself from the general lack of substance – whether in liquid or marketing campaigns – embraced by so many vodkas today,” says Timo Sutinen, VP Marketing & Business Development for Imperial Brands. “We offer a superior product at superior value and don’t need to generate appeal with contrived gimmicks. Because of that, we have a lot of fun sharing our point of view with the world, and this campaign is a great example.”
Sobieski Vodka entered the U.S. market in January 2007 and quickly became one of the fastest growing vodka brands in the U.S. Sobieski hit the one million case mark during fiscal 2011, due in large part to its innovative “Truth in Vodka” campaign, which took a no-bull approach to the vodka category, often making fun of typical and topical industry buzzwords.
The current campaign — the work of New York City-based Marty Weiss & Friends which designed the original “Truth in Vodka” campaign — continues the creatively confrontational tone which drove the brand’s initial success. Tapping into current events and contemporary themes, the creative features the Sobieski Vodka bottle against comments such as “Why Edward Snowden wishes he’d sought asylum in Poland,” and “Poland has only beaten Brazil twice in soccer. They’ve never beaten us in Vodka.”
Designed by Horizon Media, the buy hones in on key nightlife areas, as well as makes use of scaled executions to create visibility in larger geographies, generating an estimated $5 million in media value. The creative will appear on taxi tops, phone kiosks, wrapped busses, and wallscapes throughout the target markets.
ABOUT IMPERIAL BRANDS, INC.
Imperial Brands, Inc. is an importer and marketer of distinctive spirits. Headquartered in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla., it is a U.S. subsidiary of Belvédère S.A., one of Europe’s largest producers and distributors of white spirits and wines. Belvédère S.A. operates production and distribution units in Poland, France, United States, and other countries and additionally owns subsidiaries in Europe and South America. For more information, please visit www.ibrandsinc.com.
