Whyte & Mackay names Lions ambassadors

Whisky producer Whyte & Mackay has named its British & Irish Lions ambassadors as the team’s tour of New Zealand begins.

An official drinks partner of the team, Whyte & Mackay has named current Lions Scotland’s Stuart Hogg, Ireland’s Conor Murray and England’s Elliot Daly and former Welsh Lion Adam Jones as official ambassadors.

The partnership is the first of its kind for the company and will see the players star in a consumer-focused marketing campaign designed to appeal to rugby and whisky fans across the UK.

The campaign kicked off with a video where each of the players discuss rugby, how they play against each other most of the time and how they now have to “smoothe things over” in order to work together as a team.

The partnership will be visible through “cross channel activation” in the on- and off-trades, including limited edition glassware, and an extensive social media presence.

Ruairi Perry, head of blended whisky brands at Whyte & Mackay said: “The Lions are the best of the best, selected from the four nations – an ethos that parallels Whyte & Mackay’s blending process: bringing the finest single malt together with grain whisky in a unique triple maturation process to create a surprisingly smooth blend. It makes perfect sense for us to partner with the Lions Tour.

“We have been on a fun mission to help smooth things over and celebrate each other’s heritage – well at least for the duration of the Lion’s Tour – and we’re excited about engaging with existing and new Whyte & Mackay drinkers throughout the campaign.”

The Lions tour to New Zealand begins this Saturday, with the team playing a number of club teams starting with NZ Provincial Barbarians, ahead of their first clash with the All Blacks in Rotorua on 17 June.