Diageo raises the bar on festive spending

Diageo has raised the stakes in the spirits category with increased marketing spends on many of its major brands this Christmas.

It's also bringing back its iconic 'Good Things Come To Those Who Wait campaign for Guinness, with a new ad screening on TV from next week and in cinemas from November.

The budget for Baileys has been increased by 30% compared with November and December 2004 to £5m, and includes a new ad campaign featuring two black male characters based in LA, called Lewis and Kelly.

Senior brand manager Matt Hunt said: 'It reflects a very chilled out scene that can be positive for the brand.

The brand will be supported in the press, on posters and on radio. Baileys is also embarking on a marketing strategy to promote the brand whizzed-up with ice in a blender.

There's new TV and cinema advertising for Smirnoff, which has a £15m spend, focusing on its triple distillation method and 10-times filtration through Polish silver birch charcoal.

A £4m spend on Smirnoff Ice represents the biggest investment in the brand at Christmas since 1999, said Diageo, and is four times the amount spent at the same time last year. The investment includes a continuation of the Uri TV campaign.

Gordon's is being backed by a £2.1m TV campaign until December as part of a £2.8m overall festive spend, which will include print and radio advertising, and sponsorship of Classic FM's Smooth Classics programme. The spend is up 30% on the same time last year.

But there's no TV support this year for Bell's the brand which in the 1990s broke ranks with the voluntary agreement that effectively banned TV advertising for spirits. Instead, above-the-line support is being targeted through media such as posters close to points of sale.