ABOUT THIS STUDY
In 2015, Jim Beam released Jim Beam Apple, a flavored line extension that quickly became the most successful line extension in Jim Beam’s history, and the No. 2 innovation in the entire spirits industry during 2015. A year later, Jim Beam Apple sales continued to climb steadily, but like any new product, it still faced an awareness deficit compared to established competitors. The brand was looking for a relevant way to get in front of the millennial drinkers drawn to flavored whiskeys.

WHY?
Millennials obsess about tech news, and Jim Beam Apple's key fall season coincides with major product rollouts and innovations. So, in order to take advantage of a moment when our target drinkers were paying attention, we created the Jim Beam Apple Watch, a stylish timepiece that doesn't actually tell time – but does put a shot glass on your wrist. To promote it, we created a pitch-perfect parody of a product-launch video, complete with the usual white background, CGI product rotation and executive voiceover (swapping the usual British accent for the Kentucky drawl of Beam's seventh-generation Master Distiller Fred Noe). The video touted faux features like "an adjustable tweed strap" and a dial "that serves absolutely no purpose."

We made a limited number of the brushed-steel watches and listed them for sale at Jim Beam's online store. And, of course, we told influencers and media, targeting leading outlets in the technology, men's interest, food-and-beverage, business and entertainment verticals as major fall tech events approached.