Johnnie Walker, Victor Ehikhamenor’s Collaboration

Raheem Akingbolu

Johnnie Walker has announced its collaboration with wave-making visual artist Victor Ehikhamenor. The collaboration has seen the production of 2,500 specially designed limited edition bottles of Johnnie Walker Black label aged 12 years. While the Black label is not the premium product from Johnnie Walker, it represents the mid-entry point for achieving the company’s objective which is to introduce a new generation of drinkers to the brand using art as an incentive.

Their target audience are Gen Zs and Millennials; a demographic segment that is on the cusps of taking over. Catching them young would mean a captive audience that would grow with the taste and the brand. And who better to help them achieve this than Victor Ehikhamenor who on a recent Arise TV show tried very hard to downplay his prodigious achievements as one of Nigeria’s most prominent living artists.

His works have been shown at world acclaimed museums, festivals and galleries like Art Basle Hong Kong, Venice Beinalle, the 5th Meditationa Biennale to the 12th Dak’art Biennale  and Biennale Jogja XIII as well as at Art X, the Gagosian, Tyburn Gallery, Rele Gallery, Jennings Gallery and South London gallery to name a few.

The collaboration between Victor Ehikhamenor and Johnnie Walker is, therefore, a unique synergy between two globally renowned and well-loved brands with firm connections to the youth market.

As the count down to the formal launch begins, one must consider the question; why do liquor brands love to collaborate with artists? A quick answer would be to consider the Latin expression, in vino veritas which approximates to “in wine is truth” meaning that when alcohol is imbibed the tongue loosens to tell the truth.

But that quote which is credited to Gaius Plinius Secundus better known as Pliny the Elder, a Roman author, naturalist, philosopher, and military commander is not to be taken just on its face value because as John Keats the English poet wrote in his famous poem, “Ode to a Grecian Urn,” truth is not just speech it is beauty – “beauty is truth and truth beauty” he wrote.

Taken together it means that when artists imbibe, they create works of art that are beautiful which is not far-fetched when you really look at a bottle of liquor most of which are works of art and which after the content has been consumed are usually converted to vases, lamps, and even framed wall art.

But that connection has not always been there. The first time liquor and art collided was in 1985, when the famous and eccentric Andy Warhol redefined the Absolut vodka brand with a Warholian treatment. It was a branding coup that made the Swedish produced Absolut vodka a staple in the United States where it had struggled for years to make an impact in a market that was dominated by Russian made vodka brands.

From the example of Andy Warhol, one can then surmise that liquor brands are drawn to artists because artists are tastemakers who are fully plugged into the zeitgeist with a finger right on the pulse of the culture.

And that collaboration has extended from virtual artists like Andy Warhol to graffiti inspired pop artists like Keith Haring and Michel Basquiat to Jeff Koons and KAWS.

Liquor brands like Hennessy, Macallan, Dom Perignon and Johnnie Walker have joined the bandwagon, piggybacking on the street cred and pop cultural cachet of artists both celebrated and fledgling.

Their marketing pitches have tried, however, not to couch these collaborations in crass commercial terms. The brands have always sought to present these collaborations as aligned to a social and sustainable cause, something bigger than just selling alcohol thus highlighting a deeper brand engagement with and appreciation of cultural and artistic relevance.

Macallan’s Masters of Photography Series, extends the brand’s commitment to quality by partnering with photographers. It was launched with Mario Testino. According to Macallan, “Each of the 1,000 editions comprised a different Mario Testino print capturing The Six Pillars, an exclusive photo-archival booklet featuring a total of 20 images shot by Testino during the process, one bottle of the single malt whisky and six miniatures from each of the selected six casks.”

1800 Tequila promotes the Essential Artists series which allows select artists to produce bespoke bottle designs for the brand. For the Essential series 1800 Tequila says “$1 from every Essential Artists Series 11 bottle sold benefits Pioneer Works, an artist and scientist-led cultural center in New York dedicated to experimentation and education.”

In the press release announcing their collaboration with Victor Ehikhamenor, Johnnie Walker notes that the artist has used “Air-Ink to produce limited edition Keep Walking Lagos bottles. The bottles feature stunning illustrations using ink from air pollution. This is in line with Johnnie Walker’s sustainability drive that combines art with innovation.”

Air Ink is produced by Graviky Labs, which describes its goal as taking “something as pervasive as air pollution and turn[ing] it into something as common as ink.”

In collaborating with Victor Ehikhamenor and using environmentally sustainable ink by Graviky Labs to produce stunning limited edition bottles which the release says are “inspired by the vibrancy of Lagos and the unbreakable spirit of its inhabitants,” and “embodies the energy that sets Lagos apart and its ability to spur its dwellers to Keep Walking,” Johnnie Walker is elevating a commercial brand extension aimed at Gen Zs and Millennials into an environmental and sustainability cause.

But despite efforts to downplay the commercial angle, there remains the clever marketing strategy behind these collaborations which usually feature bespoke limited edition bottles capped at certain volumes. By producing a specific number of bottles, (2,500 for Johnnie Walker) the brands are instigating what has been described as “manufactured scarcity” a sort of artificial scarcity thus inducing market demand for the ‘art in a bottle”.

As a corollary to the bespoke limited edition bottles and in keeping with the brand’s focus on the vibrancy and energy of Lagos, Victor Ehikhamenor has produced a wall mural on Lagos Island right behind Freedom Park. The mural which features the iconic Johnnie Walker logo with the bold brand promise – Keep Walking – is Diageo’s clever means of adding urban regeneration and beautification to the mix