Famous Grouse

Famous Grouse said the ad highlighted its ’playful, unpretentious nature’

The Famous Grouse is mounting a global push ahead of the festive season.

The Edrington-Beam Suntory brand has unveiled a fresh ad, which it said would “target regular blended whisky drinkers across numerous channels in key markets” in the lead-up to Christmas.

It features the brand’s eponymous game bird riding a snake before the tagline ‘smooth’ appears next to a bottle of the scotch.

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The Famous Grouse stood apart “not only because of our smooth, well-rounded flavour, but also our playful, unpretentious nature”, said the brand’s global marketing manager Yvonne Whitehouse. “This new campaign brings both these elements to life in a very memorable way that will resonate well with our blended whisky-loving audience.”

It comes as sales of The Famous Grouse are up £2.2m to £213.3m - a 1% increase. However, volumes have dipped slightly, falling 1.5% [Nielsen 52 w/e 11 August 2018].

The brand has spent the year expanding its portfolio with a new ‘cask’ range of whiskies, such as Bourbon Cask and Ruby Cask variants.