Johnnie Walker launches “Joy Will Take You Further” as new campaign brand ...Unveils Don Jazzy as the Joy Ambassador for the Campaign

L-R: GM, Diageo Brands Nigeria, Mr. Neil Comerford; Head of Reserve, Mr. Joe Nazzal; Head of Marketing, Diageo Brands Nigeria, Ms. Adenike Adebola; Joy Ambassador, Johnnie Walker, Don Jazzy and Corporate Relations Director, Guinness, Mr. Sesan Sobowale at the launch of Johnnie Walker ‘JOY WILL TAKE YOU FURTHER’ Campaign in Lagos…Last week

Don Jazzy

As a way of encouraging millions of Nigerians across the country to celebrate success at every phase of life, Johnnie Walker, the foremost premium Scotch whisky in the world from the stables of Diageo Brands, today unveiled its largest ever global marketing campaign tagged “Joy Will Take You Further”.

 Activated in more than 50 countries simultaneously, Johnnie Walker’s “Joy Will Take You Further” campaign will reach over 350million consumers around the world within the first weeks of launch, urging everyone to recognize and celebrate personal progress they achieve on their walk to success.

Graced by Industry Heads, Chief Executives, Top Management Personnel, Newspaper Editors amongst other extraordinary achievers who share the brand’s view of how happiness in life is a fuel for success, Johnnie Walker celebrated top 100 dynamic individuals who have demonstrated the value in celebrating every step on their walk to achieving their goals, hosting them to a spectacular event held at the Federal Palace Hotel, Lagos.

Speaking at the event, the Corporate Affairs Director Diageo Nigeria, Mr. Sesan Sobowale, stated that the new campaign - drawing on decades of research - challenged the conventional wisdom that success guarantees you happiness and instead celebrates the fact that happiness actually helps people achieve success.

He said: “Johnnie Walker has always stood for progress – it’s been the story of our whisky since our founder John Walker started it all nearly 200 years ago. What two centuries of experience have taught us is that progress doesn’t have to be an endless uphill journey – we can enjoy the steps we take and the more happiness we find in them the more likely we are to achieve our goal. Evidence is confirming a conviction that sits at the heart of our brand: “Joy Will Take You Further.”

 Joy Will Take You Further campaign is a step further on the evolution of the brand’s famous ‘Keep Walking’ campaign and represents a new perspective on personal progress, which has defined the brand’s philosophy for more than 15 years, helping Johnnie Walker become the most valuable spirits brand in the world.

Based on new insights into how success is viewed by consumers today, the campaign brings to life the concept that joy can be a catalyst to the progress they seek, and aims to generate a positive culture shift by promoting and encouraging the idea that finding joy in the journey is part of the recipe for success.

Guests at the event shared their personal perspective on the impact of a joyful walk on, noting that the true way to success is not just hard work and determination but also taking time to enjoy the simple moments of the journey.

Other activities at the event included the unveiling of top music artiste, producer and Chief Executive Officer of Mavin Records, Michael Collins Ajereh aka Don Jazzy as the Joy Ambassador for the Campaign.

Explaining the rationale behind the choice of Joy Ambassador, Head of Marketing, Diageo Brands, Adenike Adebola, said: “Don Jazzy has experienced different phases of success in his career up till now. He is a true achiever, a game changer and a model to emulate. He is passionate about what he does and it is that passion we celebrate. We believe he will be instrumental in propagating the message of and inspiring the rest of Nigeria with our core message that Joy Will Take You Further”.  

In his speech, Don Jazzy talked about joy and how he has been able to use joy to get to where he is today. “Life to me is very simple. I do not for any reason be worked up or uptight or too formal about things. Let’s try as much as possible to do things in a joyful way and still achieve desirable results. I thank God that there are a lot of chief executive officers from different organisations here. This campaign is for you to loosen up a bit with joy and wait for your cheques,” he said.

He recalled that, “I have been in the music industry for about 15 years- 10 years in the Afrobeat music. What gives me joy is bringing people up from the scratch. I love helping people grow from baby steps into superstars. I love doing that and there is nothing that can stop me from doing that. It gives me joy to see that I can actually impact something in young people’s lives and they can in turn do that to other people. They can be that light to their family like I am in my own family. It keeps me going and I don’t intend to stop it. I still have the drive and the passion to keep doing what I am doing. I am happy that Johnny Walker saw that in me.”

Guests were sensitized on different variations of Scotch whisky such Single Malt Scotch whisky, which contains three main ingredients including: Malted barley, water and yeast made from a single distillery. Another one is a Single Grain Scotch Whisky made out of any grain that is not barley and such as rice, wheat and so on. Then the Blended Scotch Whisky comprises mixture of Single Malt Scotch whisky and Single Grain Scotch whisky. Blended Newswatch Times learnt that Scotch whisky is approximately 80 percent of the whiskies around the world.

 Similarly, it was fun knowing different ways one can drink Johnnie Walker and these include through the fragrance by smelling it, second through the flavour, third is the feel and fourth is the swallow. Guests tasted Johnny Walker in three different methods to get different tastes by adding some cubes of ice, drank it without adding anything and adding some drops of water.