Captain Morgan has launched a new digital effort with agency MRM Worldwide as part of the rum brand’s multiagency “Calling all captains” campaign.
MRM Worldwide created a customizable voicemail tool, which allows consumers to set up Captain Morgan-branded prank calls. From the Web site CallingAllCaptains.com, consumers can choose from three personas — the cute girl, the angry boyfriend or the unpaid bartender — to make the call. Using an online form, users can also customize the call with a friend’s name and details of their night out. At the end of the message — which goes directly to voicemail or to voicemail after one ring — the recipient is informed of the prank and directed to the “Calling all captains” site.
“One of the things that the target audience for Captain Morgan likes to do is to have a ‘legendary’ night out and then talk about it the next day,” said Michael Jacobs, EVP, executive creative director, MRM Worldwide. “So we created this voicemail technology that enables these guys to have pranks on their friends. With this tool, we are providing an outlet for consumers to interact with their friends in a playful, fun-loving way that is synonymous with Captain Morgan.”
The campaign targets people 21 to 35 years old and is “very much geared toward young men,” Jacobs said. The prank call system is being promoted through online media and on blogs and Web sites that also target young men. The “Calling all captains” campaign, which launched in May, also includes television ads from Grey Worldwide, online and outdoor advertising and events promotions. The TV spots air on networks including ESPN, Spike TV and Comedy Central.
MRM has worked on a variety of accounts for Diageo — Captain Morgan’s parent company — including Smirnoff, Crown Royal and a new premium rum product that will launch later this year. This is the first mobile message campaign the agency has put together for Diageo.
“One of the things that is interesting right now for liquor brands is that they are all testing the efficacy of digital media,” Jacobs points out. “This campaign is a way for Diageo to start comparing digital initiatives with offline initiatives and see what is reaching consumers and what’s effective.”
Earlier this summer, Molson Coors partnered with mobile marketing firm Adeye to promote its Different World Drinks group beers, which include Kasteel Cru, Dos Equis and Blue Moon.
