Sipsmith Gin launches first ad campaign

London gin distillery Sipsmith, which is celebrating its 10th anniversary, has unveiled its first ad campaign featuring the character Mr Swan, a reference to a part of the pot still in which its gin is made.

The advert, narrated by the character Mr Swan who is voiced by British comedian Julian Barratt, follows the story of the production process, from the location of the distillery, the selection of the juniper, the use of the heart cut and sealing the bottle with wax.

Developed by ad agency Ogilvy UK, campaign was developed by members of the team that have also worked on Wes Anderson films, including Isle of Dogs and Fantastic Mr Fox.

Sipsmith’s advert was written by Jonny Durgan, art directed by Ilka Mourao and directed by Jeff Low through Biscuit Filmworks. The media agency was Zenith.

Kate Moorcroft, global marketing director of Sipsmith, commented: “We are delighted to bring the Sipsmith story to our audience, in this way for the first time, through the wonderful world of Mr. Swan. Stop-motion animation felt like the perfect way to tell the Sipsmith story as the skilled craftsmanship behind the creation of the film – with no detail overlooked, however small – resonated with our commitment to handcrafting Sipsmith Gin, making sure no corners are cut and no compromises are made.”

Jules Chalkley, chief executive creative director at Ogilvy UK added: “The more we delved into the rich story of Sipsmith Gin, the more we understood they don’t do what’s easy; they do what produces the best gin they can make. We played with a number of ideas on how to bring the brand to life, but nothing felt quite right until the ideation of Mr. Swan and the stop-motion concept came about with director Jeff Lowe. From there, everything began to fall into place.”

The campaign will be featured on television, in cinemas and across social media platforms.

Sipsmith was founded in 2009 by friends Sam Galsworthy and Fairfax Hall who where then joined by master distiller and writer Jared Brown. The distillery initially operated out of a garage in Hammersmith and has since moved down the road to Chiswick. In 2016, drinks giant Beam Suntory took a “controlling stake” in the business. The financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.