Diageo wants to turn Jude Law’s Johnnie Walker films into a branded content series
Diageo is to launch a sequel to its Johnnie Walker branded film 'The Gentleman’s Wager' that it hopes to turn into an ongoing series with its star, Hollywood actor Jude Law.
The Gentleman’s Wager 2 reunites the original cast of Law and James Bond actor Giancarlo Giannini with director Jake Scott. Chinese actress Zhao Wei also appears in the 10-minute film that picks up where the first film left off.
The characters, played by Law and Giannini, make another wager but rather than gamble a beautiful boat this time it’s a car close to the Johnnie Walker brand’s heart – the rare Delahaye 135S owned by the Walker family. While details are still kept under wraps, ahead of its premiere at the Rome Film Festival in October, the film sees Law attempt to win the bet by racing to Monaco. On the way he encounters Wei as well as F1 stars and brand ambassadors Jenson Button and Mika Häkkinen.
Like its predecessor, the ad ends on an open note, giving the brand the opportunity to create more should fans like it. Guy Escolme, Johhnie Walker’s global brand director told The Drum that the prospect of another 'The Gentleman’s Wager' was one that was being considered.
“We certainly see an opportunity to take the idea forward. It has a rich feeling to it and you’ll notice how we finished the first one that there was an open endness to it and that’s the same with the second,” he added. “It invites us to have the possibility to make another one if we want to.”
'The Gentleman’s Wager' was billed as a first for Diageo when it launched last summer. While Johnnie Walker had dabbled in more cinematic efforts for previous campaigns, the business viewed it as a stake in the ground for a move toward bigger creative ideas that were able to resonate more locally. It’s why Wei and the former F1 champions of Button and Häkkinen appear in the latest film, with Diageo hopeful the film gets traction in the lucrative but slowing Chinese market as well among those high net worth lovers of motorcar racing.
The film is part of a wider recalibration of Johnnie Walker’s deep-rooted 'Keep Walking' mantra. 'Joy Will Take You Further' is the strapline it hopes to evolve the brand’s theme of progression, focusing on how happiness can lead to success rather than the other way around. It launched yesterday (16 September) in over 50 countries simultaneously, a first for the brand and an example of how it wants to work its media harder with more coordinated buys. The company claims the campaign will reach more than 270 million global consumers within the first 10 days of launch.