Jane Walker whisky strides in to draw women into Johnnie Walker's world
There's a buzz already about the new female logo Johnnie Walker is trotting out after more than 100 years of using a man on its bottles.
In March, the iconic whisky brand will introduce a limited-edition of its Black Label whisky called Jane Walker. It's the same Black Label blend.
But instead of the iconic walking-man-in-a-top-hat logo, the Jane Walker Edition bottle will show a long-haired woman in knee-high riding boots strutting in the hat.
"Scotch as a category is seen as particularly intimidating by women," Stephanie Jacoby, Johnnie Walker vice president, told Bloomberg. "It's a really exciting opportunity to invite women into the brand."
Jane Walker will appear on 250,000 bottles and debuts in March to coincide with Women's History Month and International Women's Day, notes Ad Week.
According to ScotchWhisky.com, the "Striding Woman" was reportedly being prepared to coincide with Hillary Clinton's potentially iconic presidential win, but was put on hold after she lost.
The company plans to donate $1 for each bottle produced to nonprofit groups that support women, including She Should Run, a group that encourages women to register to vote and run for office, and a movement to install a monument in New York's Central Park to honor suffragettes called Monumental Women.
The company's push toward gender equality doesn't begin and end with a label on a bottle. By April, the board of London-based Diageo, which owns several brands including Johnny Walker, will be 50 percent women, Jacoby told Bloomberg. The company has also asked advertising agencies to have at least one woman on board when it pitches ideas.
And this might not be the last time Jane shows up on a bottle, Jacoby told Bloomberg.
"We really see Jane as the first female iteration of our striding-man icon," she said. "We like to think of our striding man and our striding woman as really walking together going forward."
The Scotch maker is just the latest company to tweak or upend gender roles in its advertising. KFC recently cast country star Reba McEntire as the fried-chicken chain's iconic Colonel Sanders.
Twitter is apparently still getting over the "lady Doritos" fiasco, because along with people raising a glass to Johnnie Walker are those taking shots at Jane, in the tone of "at least the bottle's not pink" and "will it aim to be more sweet and tender than the original?"
Black Label is Johnnie Walker's iconic blend created using scotch whiskies from all around Scotland aged a minimum of 12 years, according to the company's website. It is described as having "an unmistakably smooth, deep, complex character."
The Jane Walker Edition will cost about $34 for a 750 ml bottle, which contains the same amount as Johnnie Walker Black Label 12 Year Old, according to Scotch Whisky.
This story was originally published February 26, 2018 at 5:36 PM with the headline "Jane Walker whisky strides in to draw women into Johnnie Walker's world."