Actor Jonathan Majors Features in Bold, Jazzy Campaign for Johnnie Walker Black Label

Johnnie Walker, the world’s number one Scotch Whisky, today launches a new, through-the-line global campaign putting a spotlight on one of the brand’s most iconic and best-selling whiskies, Johnnie Walker Black Label. 

Launching after a record year for the brand, it comes in the wake of the successful Johnnie Walker Keep Walking campaign from 2021, and celebrates a world of big flavour, focusing on the bold steps taken to create the unmistakable layers of flavour found in Johnnie Walker Black Label.

Leading the way is a new television and digital advertisement starring Emmy and Critics’ Choice Award-nominated actor Jonathan Majors, star of the hit television series Lovecraft Country who will soon appear in Devotion as Jesse Brown, the first Black man in U.S. Naval history to become a fighter pilot as well as starring in Creed III as a mysterious villain set to face off against Adonis Creed. The work features Majors walking through a bold creative world of music and dance to demonstrate how the flavours of Johnnie Walker Black Label are blended together to produce the world’s number one selling premium Blended Scotch Whisky.

British jazz quintet Ezra Collective join Majors onscreen, bringing their genre-fusing progressive music to the ad’s soundtrack. Majors narrates as each instrument adds another layer to the music, demonstrating the perfectly balanced blending of flavours in Johnnie Walker Black Label.  

“For me,” Majors says, “Johnnie Walker Black Label is the drink of a lifetime. When I was a bartender in New York City it was my shift drink and when I was studying to be an actor at Yale it was my go-to sipping drink after classes. Now, here we are working together – I feel incredibly proud to be walking with Johnnie once more and showcasing what a delicious Scotch this is.”

The campaign brings to life how Johnnie Walker Black Label, the biggest selling premium Scotch in the world, is made using more than 29 whiskies from the four corners of Scotland. The whiskies used to create Johnnie Walker Black Label are matured to the exact point where they’ve reached their peak of vibrant flavour - this takes time and patience. 12 years is often an aging sweet spot for maturing whiskies - resulting in the unmistakably rich and smooth taste that is Johnnie Walker Black Label.

Johnnie Walker Global Brand Director, Julie Bramham, says: “Johnnie Walker Black Label sells more than 20 million cases of Scotch in more than 180 countries every year, it’s a whisky that’s loved by consumers all over the world. We’re so proud of the incredible quality and taste of Black Label, and this campaign - launching in a record year for the brand - is all about bringing that to life in a vibrant and engaging way. 

“We go to extraordinary lengths to ensure the flavour and quality of our whiskies and this campaign is a celebration of that. It is perhaps the most focused we’ve ever been about showcasing Black Label. We want to share that with the world and talk proudly to drinkers about one of our most iconic whiskies.”

Alongside the new ad, Johnnie Walker will unveil a full suite of campaign and experiential assets activating around the globe.

Ant Harris, group strategy director at Anomaly, says: “This was such an exciting project for us because the creative ambition of Johnnie Walker was so huge – to bring to life the big flavours of one of the world’s most iconic whiskies in the world in a way that had never been done before. Such is the scale and status of Johnnie Walker Black Label, meant that it was a huge project for us but we were ready for the challenge to create a piece of work that celebrated what makes Johnnie Walker Black Label so popular.”

Johnnie Walker Black Label was first created over 100 years ago by the Walker family who were not content with the one-note flavours and inconsistent whiskies of their day. They took bold steps to make a significantly better Scotch Whisky - expertly blended to create the rich, iconic flavour still made today.

Johnnie worked with agency partners – Anomaly, AnalogFolk, PHD, Chorus and Smarts on the campaign.