CONTEXT
The White Lotus premiered February 16th 2025 to 2.4M viewers. The third season of the satirical American drama followed the exploits of various employees and guests at an exclusive Thai resort over one highly transformative week. In a world of timeless luxury, decadence, and intrigue, actors like Patrick Schwarzenegger brought the hit series to life.
Often with a cocktail in hand…
As the official spirits partners of The White Lotus season three, Diageo’s Ketel One Family Made Vodka and Tanqueray Gin, were poised to enter culture in a spirited way.
Created by the Nolet family in the Netherlands, Ketel One Family Made Vodka is inspired by 300 years of craftsmanship and 11 generations of family distilling expertise. Meanwhile, Tanqueray Gin, a brand started in London in 1830, shares an equally impressive heritage. It won multiple awards for taste (Diageo Bar Academy, n.d.), and is the preferred drink of many stars in fashion, film and music.
Both brands have rich heritage and attention to quality, and as the official spirits partners of The White Lotus season three were looking to recruit the next generation of legal drinking age (LDA) cocktail drinkers.
OBJECTIVES
STRATEGY
Ketel One Family Made Vodka and Tanqueray Gin share a legacy of craftsmanship and excellence, and both are focused on recruiting the next generation of LDA drinkers through the modern cocktail resurgence.
The brands had an opportunity to grow their presence among younger LDA audiences and combat a gap in brand familiarity, awareness, and positive sentiment to fully resonate with this demographic.
To bridge the long-term gap in brand relevance while also driving short-term sales, Ketel One and Tanqueray would align with one of television’s most talked-about series, The White Lotus, a cultural powerhouse built around travel and experiences, luxury, and aspiration. A partnership to position them at the heart of contemporary cocktail culture while emphasizing reputations for timeless sophistication.
An aspiration that perfectly aligns with both brands’ growth ambitions.
IDEA & EXECUTION
Anchored by a sophisticated craft cocktail that fused both Ketel One Vodka and Tanqueray Gin and inspired by the series’ Thailand setting, The White Lotus Vesper Martini, brought together the best of both brands. Supported by a hero film featuring the cocktail and series’ star and newly minted Ketel One “Spirit Advisor” Patrick Schwarzenegger, the brands leveraged their sponsorship to break into the cultural conversation, cementing their reputations as the go-to spirits for a new generation of cocktail lovers and transforming The White Lotus from an on-screen phenomenon into a world fans could quite literally sip into.
Drawing inspiration from The White Lotus, we had a wealth of opportunities for immersive film, social, and experiential activations, inviting fans to indulge in the luxury and escapism that define the series. Ketel One and Tanqueray were natural hosts of this world, connecting the show’s cultural influence to real-world cocktails and experiential moments that fans 21+ could taste, share, and make their own.
More than 211 pieces of branded content (including 27 influencer pieces strategically pulsed throughout the season) and significant earned media amplification created a consistent stream of coverage tied to key partnership moments. Paid media aligned with episode timings to complement the embargoed interviews, media outreach, recipe pitching, and cocktail kit gifting. Cocktail kits were gifted to more than thirty creators identified via social listening and press to generate added value posts from the likes of creative mixologist, Julianna McIntosh (Reel: @join_Jules / 671K), and fashion and travel influencer, Christine Le (Story Frame, @christineleeee / 266K), to drive additional visibility.
Activations further brought the campaign to life for consumers and media alike, including an experiential The White Lotus Resort retreat at Four Seasons Hotel Westlake Village outside of Los Angeles, while a sweepstakes encouraged fans to win a trip for two to a Luxury Hotel in Thailand or trial subscriptions to HBO Max.
Three surprise happy hours brought Schwarzenegger to fans in New York City, while watch parties were hosted across the country with branded cocktails at elegant bars and restaurants in California, Florida, Texas, New York, Illinois, Massachusetts, Ohio, New Jersey, and Georgia. Out-of-home placements reinforced the program.
SEE CONFIDENTIAL SECTION, CASE VIDEO ALSO IN CONFIDENTIAL SECTION.
