Veuve Cliquot NotCot Extravaganza

I'm not going to post everything because it would take too long. But follow the relevant links and you'll see just how amazing this experience was for Jeam Aw from Not Cot.

First of all Veuve whisked Jean over to Paris from LA and provided her with a cool array of branded goodies in her hotel...





First port of call seems to have been a trip to see the Veuve Chateau... in an orange Bentley!







Loving the sat nav...

And then they had the most amazing demonstration of the recent Riva / Veuve collaboration - as they were taken on a gourmet river boat trip, with a champagne pairing meal.









The food and chapagne pairing looks awesome...











And they had another meal to celebrate the launch of the new Veuve ice bucket...







I've got 3 comments about this.

1. Veuve have done an awesome job - all of their ideas are inspiring and fit into the luxury lifestyle, champagne drinking experience. The stuff they have made and the people/brands they collaborate with are spot on. It all reflects well on Veuve and gets people like Jean talking about their brand.

2. Great idea to invite the likes of Jean to the Chateau. All the little extras such as writing pads and city guides show this is a brand with attention to detail. This is a very successful mechanic for generating PR.

3. I want Jean's job!

1-800 Tequila Billboards

Again from Jean at NotCot heres some activity from 1800 Tequila - I like the comment at the end: "totally random… but does anyone else find themselves reading 1800 Tequila as 1-800-TEQUILA?"

"Prepare to see Tequila in a whole new light… especially if you live in SF, Chicago, Detroit, or Atlanta, where the first set of 1800 Tequila Artist billboards are now popping up to show off some of their beautiful and crazy Limited Edition bottle collaborations! And rolling out soon will also be chances for people to submit art for upcoming billboards/bottles… and SNEAKERS!

From the press release:

A unique mix of palette and palate, this new initiative celebrates the talents of nine artists — Jorge Alderete (Mexico City) , Jeremy Bacharach (Chicago), Glenn Barr (Detroit), Will Chambers (Chicago), Chris Dean (Detroit), Kim Dosa (Atlanta), Josh Ellingson (Oakland), Hannah Stouffer (Oakland) and Urban Medium (Atlanta) — who have been commissioned to design collectible limited edition bottles. (There are only 1800 of each design, which will be available for a Pop Art price of $34.99 at high-end liquor stores).

The specially commissioned artworks will be unveiled as part of an $8million outdoor advertising and promotional campaign across the country — a new-generation museum that brings art to the people. For those who are unable to view the high-impact billboards in person, the campaign will also be available online at www.1800Tequila.com.

See my favorite bottle/billboards after the jump!"









This reminds me vividly of Bong Vodka's campaign - Spirit of the Brand that we posted about in August 2007 and also of the work that Flavorpill and Absolut/Bud Select have done in the past too.

1800 Unboxing

NotCot is brilliant. Look at what Jean got sent recently. Her post highlights the importance of blogger PR and remarkable packaging.

"Mmmm matte black box, tied up in leather cord, sealed with a big glossy wax seal… along with an enticing black envelope sealed with a matching wax seal, containing silver sheets of paper… it was far too fun to bust open this latest press release to land on my doorstep this morning and discover this beautiful bottle of the freshly launched “100 proof, 100 percent agave, super-premium tequila”, 1800 Silver Select Tequila. This comes from the 1800 Tequila folks (who just started the crazy billboard artist collab campaign i told you about earlier this week)… Really, the unboxing experience was too fun not to share, see the pictures below.

My favorite quotes from the press release… “If James Bond had to give up his martini, shaken, not stirred, he’d switch to 1800 Select Silver”… “For a male-oriented, status-conscious market, driven by luxury and opulence, in which authenticity and perception is all, ordering the best is what counts”… “This is a premium drink for the bon vivant who requests his single malt scotch by name, and who will now be equally fastidious about his favorite brand of tequila.” I love the marketing speak - these made me giggle a bit, and hey marketers, we ladies like our premium drinks and single malt scotches too!

So seeing as i just woke up, and tequila isn’t quite how i start my mornings… i haven’t taken a shot yet, but will update later with how this “raises smooth to new heights”… but for now, be intrigued, and see the pics after the jump of how much fun this gorgeous packaging is!"











Great coverage for 1800 Silver Tequila. And the shot glass in the lid thing has sparked a bit of conversation too... See the video below.

Courvoisier and LRG Collaborate - covered on NotCot

NotCot has picked up the collaboration between Courvoisier and LRG to promote Courvoisier's Exclusif cognac that is great for cocktails.

Here's the roundup from NotCot with pictures.

"On collabs i didn’t see coming… Courvoisier is going all out on their new Exclusif Cognac! Including a multi-city tour (LA, SF, Houston, Miami, NY) this spring to show off an exclusive line designed by urban/skate brand LRG, inspired by Courvoisier… including a Napoleon Rubberband Jacket.

Ok, but seriously, we both know that’s not why i’m posting this. What grabbed me is that they even customized some limited edition gadgetry - iPhones, Blackberries, and iPods to be specific, and i’m surprised, but i’m kind of loving the the napoleonic/spy logo thing thats going on, and while orange isn’t usually my color, this shade is kind of interesting on electronics… check out more sneak peeks after the jump!"

Right Gin

From the ever excellent NotCot:

"Right Gin ~ seems to have done branding the right way… with a old style classic crest composed of everything from Stags “symbols of strength and fortitude that challenge the status quo”, Socrates “the omnipresent all-knowing fly-on-the-wall”, Black “Sophistication & Authority”, Crown “symbol of our high hope to conquer the world”, a motto - Est Unus Modus Verus - “There is a right way”… and those are only some of my favorite elements of their crest, see below for screenshots breaking down every aspect of their crest.

As for the gin itself, i have no idea how it tastes, but reading its intriguing history on their site had made me curious to find some… after all anything made by such precise image controlling perfectionists that hated the taste of gins that came before must be worth a try… also on fun details… they have a “What’s your pleasure” section of their site that helps you make your ideal drink… but doesn’t offer your usual options, under Pixie Dust, you can choose from options like Pinch of Lust, Bucket of Revenge, Thimble of Envy, etc! [sidenote: does it drive anyone else nuts that instead of pretending to paperclip the picture up there, they put a paperclip sitting above it?]"



Looks really cool... and I love the fact that another booze brand thinks the idea of a crest is a good idea...

Refill Packs are good for the envorinment...

Muji seems to sell as many refills as it does pens. Schwartz Spices must sell a large proportion of its goods in refill packs as opposed to heavy glass jars.





Maybe this could incorporate something as ecologically friendly as this from Springwise:



Could we experiment by selling our glass bottled booze at a price premium in very stylish bottles and then sell subsequent refill cartons at discounted prices? It would be a great step in the right direction environmentally...

Some wine brands are using Tetra Packs to do this although there is some doubt about their recycling credentials too.



Also, as we have commented previously, non clear glass bottles can't be recycled and often get used as road aggregate... therefore any bottle that isn't clear should be ditched in favour of see through glass or something even more environmentally sound.

This can't be done half heartedly.

Awesome Glassware

From www.to22.net via NOTCOT:

"To make a martini you will need a glass, gin, some dry vermouth, and, of course, an olive. While designing their unique martini glass, to22 decided to give greater importance to the olive. “The olive has become the signature element of a martini and, yet, it is treated almost as an afterthought.” The form simply developed from two conical elements with a hole in the middle. “ At first, we want to present an elegant, symmetrical object which has no bottom or top. It only becomes a glass when you plug the hole with an olive. Now, all of the sudden, this little green item becomes very important. After all, it is the olive that permits you to fill your glass.”

Also think it was shown on Tastespotting as well. This site is full of the most amazing links to cool stuff in the booze and food industries.