Johnnie Walker legacy stretches back to 1820 when the brand was founded. Since 1999 it has marched to the sound of its iconic slogan, 鈥楰eep Walking,鈥 which, when it was first introduced, helped the brand to revitalise its image with consumers and uplift sales amid a global spending decline in the whisky category. Fast forward to 2012 and the clarity of the messaging, like ice melting into the amber liquid, was starting to get watery.
By 2022, after Diageo enlisted the services of Anomaly to breathe new life into the 鈥楰eep Walking鈥 messaging, Johnnie Walker鈥檚 sales surpassed 21 million nine-litre cases for the first time ever and reversed eight years of decline to deliver a profit ROI of 鈧250 million globally. In 2024, the partnership won a Silver Multi-Region Effie Award in the Food & Beverage category.
Ozlem Robiliard, Diageo鈥檚 vice president, notes that the 鈥楰eep Walking鈥 campaign 鈥渉ad an incredible start, but by 2012, it started losing its impact. The message became diluted as local markets moved away from its core meaning, and the creative started feeling outdated 鈥 too serious and heavy.鈥
Though whisky sales were thriving globally, competition was tough across key markets including US, Brazil, Chile, and Australia. It became clear that, according to Ozlen, 鈥渢here was an exciting opportunity to reinvigorate the brand and reconnect with the energy driving the category鈥檚 growth.鈥
The progress that the brand touted then didn鈥檛 quite align culturally anymore: 鈥淪ociety's idea of 鈥榩rogress鈥 had evolved, but the campaign didn鈥檛 keep pace, making it feel disconnected, especially to younger audiences. People saw the brand as old-fashioned, and that hurt its relevance at a time when competitors were becoming more vibrant and approachable,鈥 Ozlem explains.
鈥楰eep Walking鈥 was getting interpreted through themes of 鈥渆ndurance and perseverance 鈥 sticking with it until you reach the top,鈥 and that heavy focus on individualism was no longer resonant before newer, more collectively focused conceptions of progress that were starting to emerge at the time. Consumers 鈥渨ere looking for something more vibrant and exciting, but the campaign鈥檚 tone felt too serious and outdated.鈥
鈥淭he brand鈥檚 image also wasn鈥檛 helping 鈥 we were seen as catering to an older, traditional audience, which didn鈥檛 resonate with younger consumers who wanted a more dynamic and modern take on success. On top of that, the 'Keep Walking' message had lost its central role in the brand and was often treated as an add-on, which weakened its impact. These challenges showed us exactly where the opportunities were. We needed to refresh 'Keep Walking' to reflect the energy and optimism our audience was looking for鈥攁nd we embraced that challenge head-on,鈥 says Ozlem.
鈥淛ohnnie Walker came to us with a brief that doesn鈥檛 come round very often: to redefine and reframe the brand worldwide 鈥 a total brand transformation. With a rich legacy and history, we knew we couldn鈥檛 simply start from scratch,鈥 says Ant Harris, head of strategy at Anomaly. 鈥淚nstead we had to honour its past to reimagine it for today鈥檚 world.鈥
Looking at the task at hand, Anomaly saw that a traditional advertising approach wasn鈥檛 going to be enough. The team was going to have to 鈥渇undamentally redefine how one of the world鈥檚 most iconic brands connects with people globally 鈥 how it shows up in the world across every touchpoint,鈥 he adds.
Ozlem says that the brief for Anomaly was simple yet ambitious: 鈥淲e needed to address the brand鈥檚 challenges 鈥 declining growth, stiffer competition, and an outdated perception that wasn鈥檛 resonating with younger audiences. The heart of the challenge was about taking something iconic and giving it a fresh, modern edge.鈥
Of course, the team wasn鈥檛 going to start from scratch; they simply couldn鈥檛. 鈥楰eep Walking鈥 wasn鈥檛 going anywhere but it needed a new relevance and a new aspirational image that connected to culture in an authentic way. The legacy at hand was on Ant鈥檚 mind: 鈥淲e had a deep respect for the legacy of 鈥楰eep Walking.鈥 It鈥檚 one of the most iconic slogans in advertising history, so we understood the weight of the task.鈥 He knew from the start that Anomaly would have to 鈥渉onour its spirit of progress while making it feel more dynamic, inclusive, and relevant. It wasn鈥檛 about reinventing the wheel 鈥 it was about rediscovering the power of 'Keep Walking' and ensuring it could inspire a new generation with the same impact it had for decades.鈥
Anomaly looked to legacy fashion brands for a model of how to reinvent an iconic brand platform, 鈥淥ur approach to the new creative was rooted in one key idea: disrupt or die,鈥 says Ant.
To start, Anomaly knew that 鈥溾楰eep Walking鈥 had tremendous equity, but it needed fresh energy and meaning to connect with today鈥檚 audience.鈥 A lot had to be done to make consumers connect with it again. 鈥淲e couldn鈥檛 just say it, we had to live and breathe it,鈥 Ant explains. 鈥淲ith a 200-year-old history like Johnnie Walker, the brand was the epitome of progress. We wanted to bring to life this commitment to progress in everything we did; its restless energy to constantly reinvent was visualised from the bottle photography to the treatment of the Striding Man, everything was designed to reflect movement, energy, and optimism.鈥
Like in 1999, when 鈥楰eep Walking鈥 was first introduced to unify communication, time and market changes had caused fragmentation once again. That鈥檚 why 鈥渢o create a truly effective approach we also had to address the brand鈥檚 fragmentation. We developed a global framework that allowed local markets to adapt the campaign while staying true to its core. This balance ensured relevance across diverse audiences while maintaining a consistent brand voice,鈥 adds Ant.
The new creative launched in Australia, Brazil, Chile, and the US 鈥 the markets Johnnie Walker was struggling in the most 鈥 redefining the sentiment behind 鈥榩rogress鈥 in a way that would feel specific to each market while nevertheless communicating the spirit and ethos of 鈥楰eep Walking鈥. Ant says: 鈥淲hat progress means can vary depending on cultural context, so we took an adaptable approach for local relevant storytelling that empowered local markets to develop activations and partnerships unique to their market.鈥
By keeping the 'Keep Walking' message adaptable but consistent, we ensured the campaign felt both globally unified and deeply personal to each audience. It鈥檚 this dual focus that allowed the campaign to resonate so effectively across such diverse markets.鈥
Why was a creative solution the right way to tackle Johnnie Walker鈥檚 impacted sales? Ant notes that the disconnect between audiences and the brand wasn鈥檛 due to lack of awareness, 鈥淚t stemmed from an outdated perception of the brand and its message. Simply increasing ad spend wouldn鈥檛 have solved the core issue,鈥 he attests. Breathing new life into the brand and modernising what it signified could only be done with bold creative ideas. 鈥淭he creative solution allowed us to redefine 鈥楰eep Walking鈥 for a modern audience, turning it from a message about endurance into one of bold, vibrant progress,鈥 he adds.
Ozlem echoes Ant鈥檚 sentiments and the clear need that a creative solution would satisfy. 鈥淔or a transformational change, we needed a transformational creative solution. This meant an entirely new and different creative approach to the one we had seen before. The disruption of Anomaly鈥檚 creative solution gave the brand the game changing, head snapping brand platform that could unite markets globally and be amplified through local partnerships and activations.It unleashed the brand鈥檚 iconic history with a fresh energy 鈥 this approach wasn鈥檛 just a refresh; it reignited the power of 'Keep Walking' and turned it back into an inspiring call to action.鈥
Winning a Silver Multi-Region Effie Award, while an undeniable privilege for Anomaly, is also a testament to the agency鈥檚 way of working: 鈥淚t鈥檚 affirmation for how we like to work with all our clients 鈥 putting the focus on ideas that can drive effectiveness and growth, no matter what 'shape' they take. But for a brand as iconic as Johnnie Walker, it鈥檚 especially meaningful because 'Keep Walking' has such a rich legacy. Being part of reimagining that legacy and delivering real, measurable results is a career highlight for the whole team,鈥 says Ant.
The win 鈥渧alidates the hard work of everyone involved,鈥 Ozlem says, adding 鈥渆specially our partners at Anomaly, who helped bring this bold vision to life.鈥 Working symbiotically was key to success, per Ant: 鈥淚t鈥檚 also a huge credit to the collaborative partnership we鈥檝e had with Johnnie Walker and our agency partners鈥攖ogether, we set out to create something truly meaningful, and this recognition shows we achieved that.
Reflecting on work, Ant adds that 鈥淲hat makes this campaign so special is how it brought new energy to an iconic idea, resonating with audiences across 40+ markets. We鈥檙e incredibly proud to have been part of this journey with Johnnie Walker and to see 鈥楰eep Walking鈥 thriving once again.鈥
鈥淔or Johnnie Walker, this award is more than just recognition,鈥 Ozlem concludes. 鈥淚t鈥檚 proof that rather than starting from scratch, you can redefine a by returning to what originally made the brand iconic in the first place.鈥