Half an ad

The launch campaign for Ballantine’s Light – a new lower-alcohol product from the brand which has become the No.1 Scotch in Europe and the No. 2 Scotch in the world.

Client: Ballantine's
Campaign: Stay True: There's no wrong way

Black Hole (20s)

The launch campaign for Ballantine’s Light – a new lower-alcohol product from the brand which has become the No.1 Scotch in Europe and the No. 2 Scotch in the world.

The way we strategically framed the product benefit was beautifully simple: ‘half the alcohol, all the character’ (of Ballantine’s Finest – the best-selling 40% ABV product).

And this called for a beautifully simple creative idea. An idea which keeps the product benefit at its very centre and does so in a fresh way which grabs attention and is a true departure from other advertising in the category. The product launch was also an opportunity to portray a lighter-hearted expression of the Ballantine’s brand, tonally, befitting of the new product’s name.

 Effectiveness

£6.1M

wave 1 investment, 

750M

reach to date

Double digit

growth in 66 markets

Lights (20s)

Giant Hand (20s)

“With this campaign we are showing that with ‘half an ad’, you can still get all the fun that you get in a full ad. Just like with Ballantine’s Light, a lower alcohol alternative that delivers all the character and great taste of Ballantine’s, at half the alcohol. After all, we continue to champion our belief in ‘Stay True: There’s No Wrong Way’; celebrating that there’s no wrong way to drink Ballantine’s!”

Josh McCarthy, Global Brand Communications and Digital Transformation Director