LAPHROAIG’S FATHER’S DAY CAMPAIGN

Raising a glass to Dad Jokes: Laphroaig’s Father’s Day Campaign delivering laughs and Gifting Inspiration

Father’s Day presents a significant opportunity for premium whisky brands to connect with consumers seeking thoughtful and memorable gifts. For Laphroaig, an Islay single malt Scotch whisky with a distinct personality, the goal was clear: position Laphroaig as the perfect Father’s Day gift while driving purchase consideration and leveraging a full-funnel digital marketing strategy. Through engaging storytelling, phased testing, and precision targeting, the campaign effectively reached and resonated with consumers.

The Challenge

Positioning Laphroaig as a premium yet approachable Father’s Day gift required a strategy that balanced awareness, consideration, and conversion.

The key challenge was to:

• Leverage a full-funnel approach to optimise paid social engagement.

• Highlight the emotional connection and memorable moments associated with gifting Laphroaig.

• Tailor messaging to different demographics while maximising the media investment.

THE Insight

Father’s Day is an emotional occasion rooted in appreciation and nostalgia. Many memorable moments between fathers and their children are punctuated by humour and shared experiences.

By tapping into the universal appeal of “Dad jokes” and pairing them with the sophistication of Laphroaig, we could create a light-hearted yet impactful campaign that celebrated fathers and the unique bond they share with their children.

The APPROACH

To meet the challenge, we developed a full-funnel media plan across Meta platforms, employing a phased creative testing approach to refine messaging in real time. The campaign’s structure included three key stages:

Awareness

Highlight the memorable moments shared with fathers, inspiring whisky shoppers to consider Laphroaig as the ideal unphorgettable gift. Executed by engaging content centred around shared experiences and humour, emphasising Laphroaig’s premium nature.

Consideration

Showcase how Laphroaig enhances Father’s Day occasions by developing messaging focused around gifting Laphroaig to be enjoyed together and introducing its unique serve suggestion, the Paloma Cocktail.

Purchase

Drive conversions by positioning Laphroaig as a memorable gift option through a multi-SKU and retailer strategy tailored products and partners to different target demographics, facilitating upselling to premium products.

The wONDER

The campaign’s “moment of magic” lay in its ability to merge humour with emotion. By incorporating “Dad jokes” into the storytelling, we struck a chord with consumers, creating a light-hearted tone that resonated deeply. The creative assets seamlessly connected humour with Laphroaig’s brand identity, reinforcing the emotional and nostalgic value of the gift. Each story ended with a strong call to action, reinforcing the connection between the memorable content and the purchase decision.

The RESULTS

The Father’s Day campaign delivered impressive results, demonstrating the effectiveness of the full-funnel approach and data-driven creative optimisation:

By focusing on emotional storytelling, humour, and phased creative testing, we successfully positioned Laphroaig as the go-to gift for Father’s Day, driving both brand engagement and purchase intent. Our Full Funnel campaign fuelled double-digit sales growth YOY over the Father’s Day occasion. The campaign not only met its objectives but also set a benchmark for future seasonal activations.

Campaign produced in partnership with Automated Creative and Bright Signals