• by Steve Ellwanger , September 26, 2022

Not many vodka brands contain the word “sex.”

That’s more or less the inspiration for the producers of Iowa Legendary Rye to call their first vodka offering Sextro. It also happens to be the last name of the woman credited with creating the rye almost 100 years ago.

That fact also explains the placements of out-of-home ads in Las Vegas and select other cities encouraging people to drink the drink (or else fulfill its double meaning) with, well, just about anyone.

Examples include “Have Sextro on the first date,” “Have Sextro with yourself” and “Have Sextro with someone you just met.”

The brand’s roots date to the 1930s Great Depression era, when Lorine Sextro began producing what became Iowa Legendary Rye on a farm in Templeton, Iowa.

When her grandson decided to expand to vodka, “We agreed to modernize the brand a bit,” David Oakley, president and creative director of the BooneOakley agency, tells Marketing Daily.

“I said you ‘don’t want people to drink Sextro. You want people to have Sextro.’ It’s a simple idea and a great way to get your name remembered.”

BooneOakley recommended OOH for the launch because “You have to be as simple as possible. The messaging we have really lends itself to outdoor.”

In addition to billboards generating awareness, they can also be used as “social objects,” according to Oakley.

“People are taking pictures of these things and sharing them on social media. So it’s a social and outdoor play.”