• by December 9, 2008

Diageo's Crown Royal Canadian Blended Whisky, the spirit category's first-ever TV advertiser back in 1996, said it will return to the airwaves this holiday season for its first national brand campaign in over five years. Royal Crown had run a responsible drinking-themed campaign (https://www.mediapost.com/publications/?fa=Articles.showArticle&art_aid=63554) on national cable in the summer of 2007 featuring Jamie McMurray, a driver for its sponsored NASCAR team.

Royal Crown's creative agency is WPP's Grey Worldwide New York.

Playing off Crown Royal's regally inspired purple velvet and gold tasseled bag, two new 30-second spots dubbed "For Every King a Crown" show everyday people in casual settings doing what the brand calls "small, yet notable things that make them extraordinary individuals."

"When adults select Crown Royal as their drink of choice, it confirms the fact that they are kings of their world at that particular moment," said Ami-Lynn Bakshi, vice president, Crown Royal, in a statement.

Crown Royal traces its origins back to 1939, when the first bottles were specially blended to commemorate a grand tour of Canada made by Great Britain's King George VI and Queen Elizabeth.

In addition to its main brand, Crown Royal also recently re-launched its Crown Royal Reserve, formerly Crown Royal Special Reserve. This combination of fine whiskies, specially selected by the brand's Master Blender Andrew MacKay, now comes in a decanter-style bottle encased in a micro-suede gold bag that's itself enclosed in a gold-foil embossed package. The interior also includes a personalized message from MacKay.

In other Diageo whisky news this holiday season, the Johnnie Walker Blue Label brand has expanded its custom bottle engraving service nationally via a toll-free phone line (877-JW-BLUE-LABEL). The service was formerly only available in select markets.