Hennessy. A legendary cognac with 250 years of heritage. Everyone knows the name, but not everyone is aware that Hennessy can be mixed to bring more flavor and depth to cocktails.

We needed to shake up brand perceptions and build on Hennessy’s legacy for a new generation, shifting it from your dad’s drink to a cognac that moves at the speed of culture.

So we went straight to where culture lives, and took over Hennessy’s global Instagram page. First, we backed the ones who already get it but struggle to order their Henny cocktails.

A series of carousels you can swipe through at loud clubs to avoid awkward explanations to bartenders:

Merch, stickers, and club stamps to deliver the message:

Next, we turned key cocktail ingredients into recipe cards by printing Henny mixes directly on the fruits in a corner shop:

Then we dropped a series of eye-catching idents tailored for social feeds, inspiring people to loosen up about cognac and have fun with how they shake or stir Hennessy cocktails – for example, right on a buzzing phone or riding a mechanical bull.

To show that Henny cocktails can be mixed anywhere, not just at a bar or a house party, we also created one-of-a-kind fashion accessories to inspire people to mix on the go.

Culture moves fast, so we stayed in the mix with reactive assets built around key moments:

For 4th of July, we reimagined the classic Cognac snifter glass, transforming it from something your grandad uses into a red cup:

For Halloween, we summoned the spirits. For the Oscars, we shook the red carpet:

For Thanksgiving, we helped people survive the family gathering drama:

And of course, we teamed up with the voices already driving culture. From Hennessy gift-wrapping hacks for Christmas with @claudyamoreira and @keikofuroshiki, to Henny Buzzer Challenge for the NBA season with @tolutemi and @skylarmarshai, to GRWM tutorials for US Open fashionistas with @thenotoriouskia.  

For the first batch, we collaborated with Nick Van Tiem, and the rest we produced ourselves in the agency’s internal production studio.

I started this stream as a Copywriter and then led it as an ACD. Cheers to everyone at W+K Amsterdam who poured their talents into this work, Wave Studios for the smooth sound mixes, and Ricky Weissman for the perfect finish 🍹