Prohibition imagery show Johny Bootlegger is  ‘proudly sus’

Johny Bootlegger Fox Hole Fruit Punch is leaning into the smuggling era associated with its name and man-in-a-fedora logo, but with a twist.

The OOH and social campaign, developed in partnership by creative agency Berners Bowie Lee (BBL) and Toronto-based media partner, Hatch64, depicts people smuggling Johnny Bootlegger in socks, bread and even hair.

“It’d have been easy with a brand like Johny Bootlegger to fall into tired prohibition tropes, so it was something we wanted to avoid,” said BBL co-founder Michael Murray. “Instead, we have a bright, fun quirky campaign that leans into the vibe of those times and still feels modern and fresh.”

According to Melissa Iulianella, senior director of marketing and innovation at parent company Groupe Geloso, Johny Bootlegger’s fermented malt offering required a bold vision for a successful launch at the LCBO.

“Building on its strong performance at The Beer Store, we aimed to reinforce brand equity and establish a lasting identity in the market,” Iulianella said.

The campaign, which will be in-market until June, is tailored to university students and features postings around post-secondary campuses in Toronto and Ottawa and geofenced Instagram advertising across Ontario.

Crime-family drops create stir in New York

Toronto’s Angry Butterfly and PR shop Duet Public Relations were the architects behind a Gambino crime-family merchandise drop in New York that had the internet wondering if the infamous crime family had gone legit.

Wooden crates filled with professionally branded Gambino merchandise appeared outside three historic mafia hangouts in Manhattan and Brooklyn.

However, the stunt was in promotion of custom-printing platform StickerYou and its image transfer, sticker and label merchandise business.

The “Legitimate You,” campaign came with messaging, “If StickerYou can make the Gambinos look legit, imagine what it can do for your business.”

“We loved this idea because it’s a clear demonstration of StickerYou’s proposition in the most extreme way possible,” said Erin Kawalecki, CCO at Angry Butterfly. “We had a ton of fun working with StickerYou on this, and the bravery that it took shows what type of company they are – willing to be bold both in their product creation and communications.”

The campaign launched across North America this week via social, digital, influencer and marketing activations.