Cougar Bourbon tells it like it is in new ‘Straight Up’ campaign via Clemenger BBDO, Melbourne
Cougar Bourbon is back with a new marketing campaign via Clemenger BBDO Melbourne, that tells it like it is – celebrating what it means to live your life ‘Straight Up.’
For the first time in seven years Cougar Bourbon is reminding drinkers why it is one of Australia’s top bourbons.
In its new campaign Cougar Bourbon shares its thoughts on little dogs, figure skaters, fashion shows and Segways through the lens of its ‘Straight Up’ attitude.
PLAY THE RADIO SPOTS:
The Straight Up campaign coincides with Cougar’s (near perfect) score of 95/100 from Jim Murray’s Whisky Bible – the world’s leading whisky guide. The bible rates 
the quality of the bourbon and scored Cougar higher than Jack Daniels, Jim Beam, Wild Turkey and Makers Mark.
Says Ant Keogh, Clemenger BBDO Melbourne ECD: “The Cougar drinker isn’t into showiness, they’re a pretty down-to-earth person who prefers when you just say it how it is – it’s what we call living life Straight Up.”
The campaign kicked off Monday, 30 June with radio spots on Triple M, 2DayFM and NOVA as well as digital displays onnews.com.au, Spotify Radio and Imobi mobile. This will be followed with “Straight Up” radio segments nationally with Triple M’s The One Percenters (featuring Joe Hildebrand and Matt Tilley) and outdoor advertisements in Sydney, Melbourne and Perth.
The new packaging and 700ml bottle shape have taken inspiration from, – well, itself – returning to the iconic ‘flask’ shaped bottle with the Cougar cat proudly front and centre.
Carlton & United Breweries
General Manager – Spirits & RTD: Russell Hole
Clemenger BBDO
Creative Director: Ant Keogh
Senior Copy writer: Wayne Ching
Senior Art Director: Russell Fox
Print Producer: Craig Bulman
Digital Producers: Alex Kemp/Sophie Hardgrave
Group Account Director: Adrian Mills
Account Manager: Giselle Tooth
Partner Agencies
Media: MediaCom
PR: Liquid Ideas
27 Comments
Wake me up when you start doing cool ads like you used to.
Man that’s boring.
Yuck. Sorry but, yuck.
Looks like the client got their way with that one…
The ‘Whiskey Bible’ radio ad wasn’t too bad.
The rest, however…
i like em
clear tone and just easy to get.
design could be better i suppose
Doesn’t look like CUB will be troubling the awards juries anytime soon…
But that is awful
This reads like an obituary for good creative at Clems on CUB.
Bollocks
So it’s all about mocking homosexuality and disability, congratulations!
HELLO! Bourbon…
Just terrible.
A fun look at how we over accessorise.
Like the Segway ad.
Any Segway pisstake is fine by me but I’m surprised the trumpet line got through. Almost exactly the same as the line on the Carlton Jubilee TVCs.
Wow, so the insight i guess is that Cougar drinkers aren’t pretentious wankers?
And we demonstrate that by showing “amusing” images of such.
Pretty much the category isn’t it?
About the level of creative leap you might expect from a planner’s brief document following a research session.
If you go down this path at least be a bit off the wall with it.
And it would seem that there is a rather surprising story to tell about how good the product actually rates against some of the most famous or well regarded bourbon brands. That might have made for interesting advertising.
Ha – saw the adapted version of the fashion one on news.com.au this morning! strange that it was advertising bourbon at 7am in the morning, but also that fashion was incorrectly spelt…. fasion ha ha
“Straight up” ? That’s a bit homophobic really….
The bourbon ‘straight up’ ad with the figure skater is a homophobic piece of rubbish and you should take it down straight away. Way to alienate me and everyone I know from bourbon, idiots.
Nope, this ad is not ok. ‘Straight up?’ These ads are offensive and homophobic.
Blergh way to encourage totally boring, outdated and offensive gay stereotypes. Straight Up? Gross.
Cougar Bourbon says: “OR you could be a straight, white, unartistic, dumb, boring, brutish, bogan male.” You’ve certainly hit your target audience!
I just want to express my disappointment in the incredibly homophobic angle this campaign has decided to take. It’s so regressive, boring and unimaginative. How many people went through years of higher education to finally turn up at work one day and spit out this crap? Putting aside your need to market to the stereotypical “bloke”, because women would never drink this product, don’t insult the “blokes” I know by presuming that homophobia will compel them to spend their money.
This ad is not okay in any way, and Cougar should be ashamed of themselves for sanctioning and encouraging such blatant homophobia. I already associate Cougar
with the appalling sexism of its previous advertising campaigns, and moving on to the gay community is really hitting a new low. Congratulations to your marketing department for being a massive pack of twerps.
What’s the truth you’re going for here? Only homophobes drink whiskey? I guess you nailed it then. Well done Clem.
78% of Australians support gay marriage … That kinda suggests homophobia is on the way out… Gues your catering for the Neanderthal 22% leftovers or the Catch the Fire mob… Backwards and thuggish
When I saw the billboard driving home one day, i literally had to stop the car and gaze in disbelief at the ad with the ice skater. You defiantly got my attention, but for all the wrong reasons. A pretty homophobic and narrow minded target audience you’re trying to attract there Cougar!
Yes, one could argue “Well, who said the skater was a gay man? He could be straight”, but the point is still clear that you think men of ANY sexuality are suppose to fit in certain roles of “masculinity” and blatantly insulting the person reading the ad by saying…
“Yes, even though you call your self a ‘man’, WE think your expressions of any femininity is laughable and ‘ridiculous’ “.
Well guess what cougar, you’ve just lost a chance to earn a piece in the estimated $744.1BILLON global value of the ‘pink dollar’ … Straight Up!