In a context where whisky had been losing relevance, with sales dropping nearly 10% in two years, while the premium beer and gin segments achieved growth, how can a brand shape up the industry and prove that it (and its category) could be cool again? How to generate business results while stemming the decline, amid the lowest economic performance for products with a higher price tag? And how to prove that it is possible to change brand perception even as the product continues to sell?

In 1908, the brand’s greatest symbol was born: the Striding Man. A symbol that has been redesigned four times since then. To celebrate its 110th anniversary, we recreated each memorable moment along the path of the Striding Man: 1908, 1929, 1970, 1996 and 2018. We created a historic, collectible edition of Johnnie Walker based on each era.

Johnnie Walker, and its Striding Man symbol, has more than 100 years of history and is one of the most iconic global brands. Throughout this century, it has never marketed itself less than premium. Premium as it should always be, in Brazil or anywhere. Well, maybe not.

Using a thorough cultural and social mapping to discover Johnnie’s brand potential, we understood how the Striding Man was more than just a classic logo. It became tattoos. Decoration. T-shirts. Street art. Memorabilia. Internet meme. It was not only a premium brand. The Striding Man was pop culture at its finest. That was the click.

From Premium to Pop. That was our strategy. Instead of heading down the same premium track all over again, we decided to chase the other end. Let’s celebrate Johnnie Walker’s history by subverting its traditional ‘premiumness’ and giving it a pop twist. A brand as old as Johnnie Walker has a lot of stories to tell. But how could we tell these stories as a pop brand?

Furthermore, to be true to the Striding Man’s myth and birthplace, a standard campaign would not suffice.

Inspired by each era, we created a historic, collectible edition of Johnnie Walker. The starting point was the Striding Man of each time.

The scenes depict the places the icon has walked through the years.

We were extremely efficient on two fronts:

1.WE STEMMED THE DECLINE: BUSINESS RECOVERY*

- 70% increase in sales of Johnnie Walker and 5.3% in share volume;

- 22.2 p.p. increase in purchase intention by the target

2.WE MADE JOHNNIE WALKER BIG AGAIN: BRAND ATTRIBUTES*

- Average increase higher than two times in the most important brand image attributes both for the category and the brand.