Was Johnnie Walker’s 'Keep Walking' Campaign Effective?

• How effective was the advertising? Remember to supply evidence – and beware of making sweeping claims without supporting data: just because you liked an ad does not mean it was effective! Always consider other factors.

• What – if any - general conclusions can be drawn from the example you have studied? You should consider the wider implications of the campaign – social, cultural and otherwise. Relate your case study to what we have looked at during the module.

Was Johnnie Walker’s 'Keep walking' campaign effective?

We live in a word shaped by a constant race for popularity and recognition between companies, where the ability to play with the hearts and minds of people is on the pole position. As Elen Lewisnoted, ‘You know a brand has made it when it is name-checked in popular culture.’ Thus, it is noticeable that companies face an external pressure from the competitors, which is why, they have to keep the name of their brand alive among their audiences. For instance, Johnnie Walker is the image of a striding man on the Scotch whisky, which has become a global leading producer. The Keep Walking campaign was awarded the Grand Prix, at the 2008 IPA Effectiveness Awards. Nevertheless, what made this campaign effective considering the increasingly sceptical framework in terms of advertising effectiveness? This essay attempts to assess the ‘Keep walking’ advertising campaign in terms of ideas, motivation, promotional techniques used, and to the extent possible, evaluate the effectiveness of the commercial on changing audiences’ attitudes toward the brand.

To begin with, when analysing the Keep Walking campaign it is worth noticing the manner the company incorporated branding in their new attempt to promote the Scotch whis...

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...ance, subsequent to the killing of the Lebanese Prime Minister Rafic Hairi, the citizens were marching the streets holding banners displaying the phrase ‘Keep Walking’ and local puns on the name Red Label. Then, George Papandreou, a Greek opposition leader finished his speech at a party conference with the same words, ‘Keep walking’.

Also, the campaign generated noteworthy conversations among young man regarding the meaning of being a man. There are people in Brazil who tattooed the Striding Man on their bodies. For instance, a member of the creative development research in Venezuela acknowledged that ‘We have to take advantage of everything we have, to enjoy everything and to give our maximum so we have no regrets when we die. We have to think we are on this earth to do something; (Keep walking) motivates me to be a better human being’