We used to make ads for Talisker Malt Whisky, on behalf of spirits behemoth, Diageo. The theme for the Isle of Skye based distillery: Made by the Sea. In one of the executions, we used lighthouse photography NOT from the island, casing mini-uproar. A Daily Mail article at the time said “It would seem Diageo need to get out an atlas and then fire their advertising team.”
Since we were that advertising team, it was time to change tact. We took the Made by the Sea positioning and used that to propel us towards an event and away from regular advertising. We found a struggling trans-atlantic rowing race, pitched the idea of sponsoring and following the race, and then things got weirder and bigger than we could’ve imagined
We helped Talisker to become the sole sponsor of this self-proclaimed world’s toughest rowing race, then built the website, and gathered real time footage of the race during the gruelling 2,500 nautical mile journey. The media coverage of the event included a vast stream of national and international media, off and online.
