Grand Marnier Celebrates the Magic of Unexpected Encounters

Every grand moment starts with an unexpected encounter, and in its newest campaign, Grand Marnier, the Cognac and bitter Orange liqueur, explores how the meeting of elements from different worlds can signal new beginnings, new perspectives, and new heights. 

It’s the meeting of cognac and bitter orange liqueur - the unexpected encounter of Grand Marnier’s key ingredients - that led to the creative of the new brand campaign.

Launched globally, the Grand Encounter campaign devised by creative agency Wunderman Thompson France, will reach consumers across digital, print and POS channels, to communicate the power of the unexpected. In the six mini-films of the brand campaign, Grand Marnier is shown alongside other grand encounters including the beautiful but uncharacteristic combination of a ballet dancer and street dancer, and the uplifting collaboration between a classical pianist and upbeat DJ. Each film, which has a music video feel, and a distinctive soundtrack celebrates the grand encounters unlocked by these unexpected meetings, a metaphor for the cognac and bitter orange liqueur pairing.

Paul-Emile Raymond, executive creative director, Wunderman Thompson France explains, “We wanted to anchor Grand Marnier into modern culture, and we decided to move away from traditional advertising codes and create a music video instead”.

The campaign was directed by Jake Nava – a British director most notable for his work with well-known musicians including The Rolling Stones, Usher, Adele and Beyonce. Of the Grand Encounter work, he says: “The core idea of this campaign; two distinct ingredients fusing to make something impactful and elevated, felt like a clever and artistic way of associating the Grand Marnier product to inspiration, collaboration and the genuine insight that in wider culture creativity often comes out of unexpected mash-ups or encounters.”

With the new brand campaign, Grand Marnier aims to create a deeper connection with consumers who are looking for new ways to enjoy Grand Marnier at home with friends, putting two hero cocktails to the fore: The Grand Margarita and the Grand Smash which are pivotal in creating these moments as they turn classic cocktails into new serves, with an audacious twist of Grand Marnier. 

The Grand Margarita elevates a well-known classic thanks to the grand encounter between the sophisticated and audacious Grand Marnier and the classic Margarita, while the Grand Smash offers a magical meeting between Grand Marnier, lemon and mint creating a refined drinking experience. 

Also featured in the mini-series is Grand Marnier’s Louis Alexandre Blend, created in honour of Grand Marnier’s eponymous founder in 1977. Fond of adding an extra drop of Cognac to his glass of Grand Marnier, this Cognac forward blend with orange liqueur is more intense in taste and can be enjoyed neat, as well as in a cocktail.  

Julka Villa, Campari group global head of marketing says, “A ballet dancer and street dancer, a DJ and pianist – with Grand Encounter we want to start a conversation about the limitless possibilities of unexpected pairings – much like the sophisticated and audacious meeting of Cognac and bitter orange liqueur and the elevated cocktail that is the Grand Margarita. We believe that when two very different worlds meet, new moments in culture can manifest into elevated experiences. We can’t wait to see this campaign roll out across the globe, and what Grand Encounters it will inspire.”

The Grand Encounters campaign launches across POS, OOH + digital channels from the 3rd April 2023