Bordeaux unveils new global campaign

Bordeaux’s latest, multi-million pound ad campaign marks a bold departure from the châteaux, finesse and bow-ties of the past.

Bordeaux goes back to its roots

As the last grapes of the 2014 Bordeaux were being picked, the CIVB has unveiled its latest advertising campaign. It will launch in the New York subway on October 27^th, spread to the London underground and then to billboards, print and on-line through Bordeaux’s key markets (France, UK, Germany, Belgium, USA, China and Japan).

The same graphics featuring butterflies, chopsticks and telescopes in bold, primary colours will appear everywhere from French bus shelters to German magazines and  Chinese websites. The CIVB picked the British ad agency, Isobel, who were behind the ‘Good food would choose Bordeaux’ campaign in the UK, for what is its first ever global campaign.

At the press conference, the CIVB’s president, Bernard Farges, made immediate reference to Bordeaux’s current malaise with sales down 18% in value, and 8% in volume in the year to June. He blamed the 2013 harvest which came in 30% down, and the sharp slowdown in China – Bordeaux’s biggest export market by volume and value. He also expressed frustration at France’s draconian, yet imprecise Loi Evin, and mentioned how the CIVB’s ‘Drink less, drink better’ campaign in France provoked a lawsuit now in its ninth year.

Built around the theme of discovery, the new campaign which will be a mix of digital, print and outdoor, seeks to challenge preconceptions that Bordeaux is too complex and expensive. No specific figure was given for the spend, but it is believed to be around €8 million, or 40% of the CIVB’s total annual budget.