The Glenlivet supplants Google searches to end whisky stereotypes
The Glenlivet whisky has ‘infiltrated’ Google search algorithms to challenge the perception of the stereotypical whisky drinker.
The Glenlivet’s ‘Break The Stereotype’ campaign / The Glenlivet
Google Image searches for ‘Whisky drinker,’ thanks to The Glenlivet, are filled with images of women and young people of different ethnicities enjoying the tipple.
The ‘Break The Stereotype’ campaign is the first in a series of projects aimed at changing preconceptions of whisky. The whisky brand said for too long the drink has been associated with middle-aged white men, and its image search results bring up a disproportionate amount of them.
Ugandan-British photographer Danny Kasirye and Chicanx artist Devyn Galindo photographed the first installment of images. To support the campaign, The Glenlivet has set up a pop-up bar in London where it will ask guests to take a picture of themselves with a cocktail, and those pictures will then be used to further infiltrate the algorithm.
Miriam Eceolaza, global marketing director at The Glenlivet and Single Malts, said it was “time for us to change” the stereotype surrounding whisky.
As part of its work to promote diversity in whisky, The Glenlivet has carved out 30 mentoring schemes for marginalized groups in hospitality partnering with the hospitality equity group Equal Measures. “It’s critical that we do our part to better represent today’s whisky drinker and our partnership with Equal Measures will help accelerate change for the better,” Eceolaza said.