News

First Stoli campaign for Pernod

11 April 2007 By db staff writer

Having acquired the distribution rights last year Pernod Ricard has invested in its first campaign for the Stolichnaya brand, with a major new strategy that is about to launch in the US and will ultimately go global. As revealed in the February issue of db, the campaign emphasises the brand’s genuine Russian roots with the strapline “Choose Authenticity”.

The campaign has been developed in conjunction with the Stolichnaya Brand Organisation (SBO) and French agency Marcel Republique. The provenance message is reinforced by the visual identity, which is based on the constructivist movement – a heavily industrial, bold artistic style. The ads will debut in a selection of US lifestyle magazines next month.

Explaining the decision to focus on heritage, SBO president Ian Jamieson says, “Country of origin is absolutely fundamental for Stoli. It is the bedrock of the brand platform. Russia is widely recognised as the homeland of vodka.” But – indicating the relevance of provenance to young consumers – Stolichnaya is not the only brand that is talking up its roots: the latest ads from Russian Standard state, rather plainly, “Vodka is Russia”.