Smirnoff asked their target audience what their idea of a great night out was. New Zealanders submitted their best ideas for an extraordinary night out by posting a video audition online, describing their idea. Smirnoff chose the best 4 ideas, put up the funding BUT gave the winners just 1 week to pull it all off. The entire race to create something great was filmed from start to finish, all the highs and lows, and turned into a series that ran on national TV. It was called The Smirnoff Night Project.

The Smirnoff Night Project created a huge buzz - covered in numerous newspaper and magazine articles, radio, online and TV interviews. Hundreds of auditions were uploaded onto the Smirnoff Night Project Facebook app. The TV series itself was a critical hit with television reviewers, receiving 3 separate ‘Pick of the Week’ accolades.The TV station’s viewership doubled when the series was aired. Every brand measure increased (Brand health, consistent high quality product, “for people like me” etc) A 50% increase in the ‘Brand drunk most often’ measure.