MAGAZINES GIVEN DO-IT-YOURSELF ASSIGNMENT
By Adnews Staff
The ad campaign for Hiram Walker & Sons' Canadian Club rye whisky was a hit in the marketplace but distributor Corby Distilleries had a problem. The Minneapolis agency that created the campaign, Campbell Mithun Esty, had gone out of business. This prompted Corby to try an experiment: have the magazines on the media plan create their own ads. After Campbell Mithun Esty closed its doors in March this year, Corby selected the magazines it wanted to use for a fall campaign and went to each one with a proposition: show how it would execute the campaign in the best way to reach its readers. "I think most of the magazines were delighted to take up the challenge," says Bruce Hipkins, marketing manager for whiskey and brandy at Montreal-based Corby. "They're always asking for a chance to show what they can do." Corby ended up using seven of the ads proposed by the magazines. The publications not only came up with the creative concepts but also did the actual production of the ads. Hipkins says that if he were in the magazine business, he would use this scenario as a selling point for the medium. Launched in November last year, the Canadian Club campaign consists of a series of print ads showing visual puns on the word "club", such as "jazz club". The idea was to appeal to younger drinkers, a group that had generally been avoiding whisky. The ads have been "phenomenally successful," says Hipkins. Before the ad push, the brand was losing market share. Now it's growing at an annual rate of about 8%. Corby does have a creative agency, Toronto shop Harrod & Mirlin, which oversaw the fall Canadian Club campaign and is busy with other brands. Media Buying Services places Corby's ads.