Bringing In The Year of The Rabbit With Diageo

31 May 2013 --- Chinese New Year presents Diageo with a cultural opportunity to engage with consumers in markets across the Asia Pacific region and invite them to celebrate the festivities with Diageo brands. Below is a flavour of what some of our brands are doing in key markets across the region as we wish all our consumers a Happy Lunar New Year.

In China, Johnnie Walker has collaborated with renowned contemporary artist Pan Jianfeng to create a reinterpretation of the iconic Striding Man logo. Pan Jianfeng is known for his talent in combining traditional Chinese art and western design elements to create contemporary, yet distinctly Chinese imagery. The exclusive artwork is being carried on a series of limited edition gift packs in conjunction with Chinese New Year.

In Singapore, Johnnie Walker launched the limited edition Gerald Scarfe bottle in time for the New Year. Each bottle is hand engraved with its trademark slanted label and an exclusive reworking of the iconic Striding Man figure by the iconic cartoonist and illustrator. In Korea, the Gerald Scarfe launch coincided with the release of the newly designed Johnnie Walker Black bottle, which received rave reviews.

Taiwan also led with Johnnie Walker this festive season, launching the Johnnie Walker XR 21-Year-Old. Inspired by the handwritten notes of Sir Alexander Walker, this blend has been sourced from the private reserves of the Master Blender, including extra rare casks from the now silent distilleries. Finely aged over twenty-one years to achieve an exceptional quality and flavour, the Johnnie Walker XR 21 Year-Old is a special tribute to Sir Alexander Walker, who had the great honour of being made a Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 1920.

Guinness put a spin on an age old Chinese New Year tradition with the launch of Guinness flavoured Bak Kwa in Singapore. A collaboration with leading Singapore retailer ‘Fragrance Foodstuff’, the Bak Kwa was marinated in Guinness along with a time-honoured recipe of 18 types of Chinese precious herbs. The addition of Guinness to the traditional recipe provides a hint of the rich, smoky flavour of the popular stout. The Guinness Bak Kwa is distributed exclusively as a gift with purchase.

Tapping into the premium segment, China released a special limited edition Windsor XR gift pack, which consists of a traditional glass chalice designed to denote special status and high rank. The pack reflects a fusion of east and west, and will appeal to collectors the world over this New Year.

In Vietnam the New Year celebration is known as ‘Tet’. Here we kicked off the ‘Best Tet Ever’ campaign, building on the successes and lessons of the previous year. The focus this year is mainly on off trade displays. The Tet display program’s key focus is shelf application - running from 1 November 2010 to 31 January 2011 in a total of 500 shops across Vietnam. At key outlets, a Hero display programme supplements the shelf applications.