When it comes to celebrating an ongoing, long-term and valued sponsorship, what can be better than toasting the partnership with a wee drop of something special?
As part of its ongoing, umbrella “Step Inside the Circuit” global campaign, Johnnie Walker has added a new element (well, a new blend actually) to its Vodafone McLaren Mercedes F1 Team activation.
Available exclusively at Shanghai’s Johnnie Walker House, the brand’s first whisky embassy/boutique outside of Scotland, Johnnie Walker has created John Walker & Sons signature blend Vodafone McLaren Mercedes edition.
McLaren driver and former Formula 1 world champion, Jenson Button visited Shanghai to begin the process of making the blend. Under the guiding hand of Diageo blending expert and Whiskey Outreach head Nick Morgan, the whiskies Button selected and the flavours he favoured will form the foundation for Johnnie Walker’s master blender Jim Beveridge to create the tipple.
Indeed, Morgan took the racing driver through Johnnie Walker’s flavour discover experience – a nosing technique similar to that used by the master blender.
In return for his taste-setting role (and, no doubt, in the second part of this PR sandwich), Button will be given one of the limited edition bottles. This will be one of just a handful of bottles brought into existence.
The other 19 bottles of this unique blend will be on sale by exclusive invitation only at Shanghai’s Johnnie Walker House and will be priced at a whopping £30,000.
All of the other buyers/investors/owners of the limited edition will be entitled to an invitation to Johnnie Walker’s “Step Inside the Circuit” experience with Vodafone McLaren Mercedes. This will include enjoying hospitality and behind the scenes access at a Formula 1 race of their choice.
“Signature Blend is an artisan blending tradition which dates back to the 1800s, the great John Walker used this technique to create exquisite whisky blends for his best customers and today we are honouring this whisky tradition by using the craftsmanship of Jim Beveridge, our master blender, to create a blend for our global partner Vodafone McLaren Mercedes,” explains Johnnie Walker’s China brand director Lawrence Law.
Comment:
Officially the idea behind this initiative to create a Signature Blend Vodafone McLaren Mercedes Edition is to celebrate the brand’s partnership with the Formula 1 team and offers a unique collectable for enthusiasts.
Unofficially, some will see it as an interesting PR stunt – one that owes as much to marketing and
Whether this quite fits in with many of the other more technically innovative campaign elements from these partners within the Step Inside The Circuit programme is up for debate.
Links:
www.youtube.com/user/JWStepInside
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