Crack JACK DANIEL'S Safe

One of the highlights of my career is the five years I spent as the Creative Director on the Jack Daniel's account for promotions, merchandising and on- and off-premise activation.

I led the ideation, concept development, creative execution and copywriting, managing a staff of designers, writing most copy myself.

SITUATION

Jack Daniel's has a marketing creed: "We never sell. We tell."

For more than 150 years, since Mr. Jasper Newton Daniel first started selling his whiskey off the back of a wagon, the brand has been built by telling its story, not through hard sell.

Every promotion, merchandising and experiential program we created for the brand adhered to this creed. And it’s a creed I follow on everything I

CHALLENGE

Sell whiskey by telling the story of Jack Daniel’s, turning brand truth into marketable legend.

SOLUTION

We went back into Jack Daniel’s history and used a story told often at the Lynchburg Distillery to create a marketable event that reinforces the brand equity. 

The result was a promotional event tied to Mr. Jack’s run-in with his safe, and the legend around that story.

BACKSTORY

This true story is told on tours of the Jack Daniel’s Distillery.

This old safe didn’t fall on Jack Daniel but it may as well have.

One morning in 1905, the safe wouldn’t open for Mr. Jack, who lost his temper and kicked it hard enough to break his big toe. Infection took a lot of people in those days, and a few years later, it took him. Faithful to his ways, Jack Daniel’s never altered the

THE BIG IDEA

The story told at the Jack Daniel’s Distillery is that the safe was never opened.

The Big Idea for our promotional event was to give someone the chance to Crack Jack’s Safe!

Six sweepstakes winners were awarded the chance to go to Lynchburg and take a crack at what was inside the safe. Along the way, in addition to off-premise safe/sweepstakes merchandising, we included on-premise opport

PROGRAM DETAILS

On-Premise

• Crack Jack's Safe events held at key accounts
• Mini replica safes provided to accounts
• Patrons given game pieces with combination codes to try and unlock the safe and win premiums
• Entry to main sweepstakes provided
• Posters and table tents promoted the event