Description:

We didn’t just launch Thunderdonk with a bold new look, we also gave Kiwis a new word in their vocabulary to get behind: Donk.

This year, Thunderdonk entered the flavoured whisky market with a name no one had heard of, in a category dominated by global giants with deep pockets and years of shelf recognition.
The challenge wasn’t just launching a new product, it was making people remember the name Thunderdonk.

Our brief was clear: Get this Kiwi-made, flavoured whisky into the national conversation, fast, with far less budget than the big brands. We couldn’t outspend them. So, we had to be bold.

With this in mind, we took the shorthand of the brand name, ‘Donk’, and built our comms around heroing the sound a shot glass makes when it hits the table. Like in a saloon in a movie when a cowboy slams a shot glass down on the bar top – DONK! –

Donk is short. It’s punchy. It’s strange. It’s designed to do a double take once you read it, and it's a word that many aren’t familiar with and had no meaning. Making it its biggest strength. Sometimes you have to think beyond logic and be illogical to get attention.

‘Donk’ is a simple and bold word. That meant visually, we had to be simple and bold.
When we think of whisky, many think of the wild American west; cowboys and salubrious bars. This era proved to be the design inspiration for the communications and the bottle label – everything from choice of colours, typeface, logo and bottle shape reflected this.

We started by stripping the bottle’s label design to the core, then repurposing the elements to give as much attention to the headline while still keeping the vibrant bold yellow brand colour on the label.

The final campaign work didn’t say a lot, but had a lot of punch, which said plenty. The campaign ran on Out of Home and digital.

The brand’s tone of voice followed suit: Loud, proud, a little irreverent. Designed to own the challenger space and become a New Zealand cult classic.

Globally, Donk’s already donking, taking Gold at the International World Drinks Awards in London and has claimed top Liqueur in New Zealand.
Please Donk Responsibly.