In October Diageo’s Johnnie Walker, a famous alcohol brand, launched an unusual branding campaign in the Russian Internet. The projects was aimed at making the brand yet more recognizable in the high-quality whisky line and draw more customers from the premium sector. AdWatch/Isobar and Vizeum agencies were commissioned to create the winning concept.
The new take-over banners were located on the most popular business web-sites Kommersant and Vedomosti. On the top there was a long black stripe with a yellow line and a figure of the iconic Johnnie Walker man, and as the user was dragging the figure to the right along the line, the page was being filled with black paint and yellow words of wisdom. The placing of the sentence and its meaning were explaining the core concept: walk on and on no matter how hard it is, and if you want to know the direction, just make the first step.
Step 1.
Step 2.
Step 3.
Step 4.
The banner wasn’t redirecting the users to another websites, as it always happens with such pop-up advertisements. The major goal was to strengthen the branding without making the reader bored or indignant. Here it was up to the user whether to get involved into the black ad thing or continue reading the articles.