Allied Domecq claims to be behind the “biggest spirits campaign this Christmas” after unveiling a £7m support package for Tia Lusso.

The seasonal programme will focus on TV with a new marketing campaign intended to talk up the difference between Tia Lusso and its cream liqueur rivals which include market leader Baileys.

Central to the theme is a TV execution, ‘Limo’, which features a group of “sassy” females heading to an exclusive party. Once through the door, the girls go on the hunt for some ice to serve with Tia Lusso, eventually resorting to chipping off part of
an ice sculpture. The ad, which breaks on November 17, has been shot to tie in with branded break bumpers currently showing around Channel 4’s V Graham Norton show. Advertorials and other link-ups with glossy consumer titles are also planned in the run up to Christmas as well as consumer sampling at The Good Food Show and in the major multiples. Allied has also launched a pack containing two miniature bottles, priced 99p, to encourage trial.

Allied Domecq’s senior brand manger, Neil Anderson, said: “Although still in its infancy, Tia Lusso has established itself as the UK’s number two cream liqueur brand across both the on and off-trades.”

He added that he expected Tia Lusso’s target market of 18 to 44-year-old women to see the spirit on TV 18 times - effectively making it the biggest spirits drive between now and December.

Anderson ruled out extensions in the same vein as Diageo has done with Baileys Minis and Glide.
Rosie Davenport