Johnnie Walker hosts some of NZ’s biggest golfers in Blue Label event via Crave Global

Johnnie Walker, the number one Whisky brand in the world has partnered with trans-Tasman creative agency Crave Global to kick off a month-long celebration of its iconic Blue Label with a challenge befitting the exclusive Whisky.

The Johnnie Walker Blue Label Eagle Challenge, live for the month of June at the Remuera Golf Club (RGC) in Auckland.

To officially launch the Challenge, the team at Crave Global produced a premium event hosting invited media and guests including New Zealand celebrities and social media influencers at RGC.

On the day, the crowd watched on as MC Scotty “Sumo” Stevenson, former Black Cap legend Grant Elliott and twelve of New Zealand’s best amateur golfers including Harry Na, Mason Lee, Gareth Paddison, former tour professional Richard Lee and rising PGA star, Cameron Jones attempted to shoot an elusive eagle.

Crave Global also set the scene with carefully curated event elements designed to emulate golf’s most prestigious event, The Masters.

From live feeds on large format screens to greenside seating, Johhnie Walker golfing attire for players and hats for attendees, plus roaming brand ambassadors ensuring Whisky’s finest paired with canapes were always on hand.

Just 53 people managed to score an eagle on the 18th hole at RGC in 2023, and with just one in 10,000 casks of Johnnie Walker Whisky making the grade for Blue Label, it’s a suitable partnership to celebrate the rare accomplishment.

Hadleigh Averill, executive creative director of Crave Global, said the concept was born out of the idea that the rarity of Johnnie Walker Blue Label needed to be celebrated with something just as special: “We know that only the very best barrels of Johnnie Walker are selected for Blue Label, literally only 0.01% makes the grade, so we wanted to celebrate that fact with an occasion just as rare and to build a community around it.

“We loved the parallels between Whisky and golf and that led to the idea of making this a month-long activation.

“Just as any barrel of Johnnie Walker has the chance of becoming Blue Label, any golfer has the potential to hit an eagle. So, while both are exclusive and hard to achieve, we wanted to give everyone that chance.

“Golf also seems to be the favourite pastime of many retired athletes, so by launching the Johnnie Walker Blue Label Eagle Challenge with a host of well-known Kiwi faces, we’ve been able to leverage the reach through social media and really make some noise.”

Jaron Stockman, senior brand manager at Lion shares this sentiment: “We loved Crave Global’s approach to the rarity of both Johnnie Walker Blue Label and shooting an eagle.

“The concept from the team meant we had a number of marketing levers to pull, and the idea just kept on giving.

“The event was a huge success, and we can’t wait to see the golfing results at the end of the month.”

The Johnnie Walker Blue Label Eagle Challenge will be supported by ongoing social media, PR, experiential, influencer content and the golfing community and will run for the month of June at Remuera Golf Club.