Media Awards 2010: Best Alcoholic Drinks Campaign

WINNER
Title: Diageo Gordon's & The Telegraph 'The Friday'
Duration period: August 2009-September 2009
Media agency: Carat
Media director: Anna Hickey
Account directors/media planners: Louise Wright, Jessica Evans, Greg
Matthews
Creative agency: Telegraph Create
Creative directors: Beth Clutton, Caragh McKay
Account directors: Louise Wright, Jessica Evans, Greg Matthews
Account planner: n/s
Client: Diageo
Brand/product: Gordon's
Marketing director: Georgina Meddows-Smith
Media/brand manager: Alex Smith

People are staying in more, and tend to drink more wine and beer than spirits when they do so.

Gordon's wanted to boost its share of home-drinking, and Telegraph Create and Carat came up with the idea of a campaign showing how it is easy to make a good Gordon's gin and tonic at home. As research showed that people associated G&Ts with occasions rather than everyday drinking, the idea was to position Friday night as a celebration night - specifically, as Gordon's night.

A standalone Friday newspaper backed the idea, with 800,000 copies distributed with The Daily Telegraph on Fridays. A further 125,000 copies were handed out nationally. Online, a new channel was created for the Telegraph website with a "countdown to 5.30pm" clock and ideas of fun things to do on the weekend.

Retail sales of Gordon's were up by nearly 20 per cent during the campaign and half of the Friday paper's readers said it was more likely to make them drink Gordon's.

This article was first published on campaignlive.co.uk