Hendrick’s gin has a new web site to showcase its unusual advertising efforts. The liquor brand, sold by William Grant & Sons, in mid-May launched its “Curiositorium”, calling it a virtual curio cabinet and filling it with unusual sights and sounds appropriate for the brand, which is positioned as “a most unusual gin.”
The overhauled internet location is part of a campaign, which is developed by LBi out of New York and includes the use of Facebook and Twitter. The project used material from advertising for Hendrick’s that were created by Quaker City Mercantile of Philadelphia.
Visitors are greeted at the site by an illustration of a bottle of Hendrick’s gin. This rendering is surrounded by others depicting butterflies, a man in a coat, a woman bathing in a cocktail glass, and keys. Cucumbers are placed everywhere highlighting the fact the liquor is infused with them along with rose petals.
Each oddity in the “Curiositorium” is meant with purpose only bearing more peculiar names and views. To learn of the history of the brand, a visitor can click on “Our Peculiar Past,” or you can find out how they make the product at “A Gin Made Oddly.” You can even find recipes at “Treasury of Tipples,” or read of important dates at “Wondrous Affairs and Occasions.”
In the The New York Times‘ article about the launch, Julie Page, global brand director for Hendrick’s gin and Balvenie Scotch at William Grant & Sons in London, commented that the previous version of website “served a purpose, but it wasn’t doing justice to the brand.”
“We wanted to bring to life the curious world of Hendrick’s, the way we make the brand, the attention to detail,” she continued. The refreshed website serves as “a place our drinkers can go to to find out more about the brand and find out about events. The brand has been built by word of mouth,” she adds, “and this is very much part of our word-of-mouth build.”
Jason Klein, co-president of the LBi New York office, says, “We knew the brand was an extremely eccentric and quirky type of brand with a lot of character, a museum of oddities, would be consistent with the brand. he also adds that the website was made to be “playful, accessible, with a look and feel of special and unique experiences.”
Whether viewers are taking a ride on a biplane to Scotland to understand the distillation process, visiting the Statue of Liberty holding a cucumber, or signing up for the newsletter, The Unusual Times, the unique taste of Hendrick’s gin is captured in every page and each roll-over of the mouse.
In May the brand launched its «Gineral Election» website developed in this «Monty Python»-esque style.