Grand Marnier teams up with 2 Chainz

Campari-owned Cognac and orange liqueur brand Grand Marnier has partnered with hip hop artist 2 Chainz to launch its new content series.

American rapper 2 Chainz, whose musical works include the song I’m Different and a verse on Nicki Minaj’s Beez in the Trap, is the latest celebrity to collaborate with a Cognac-based brand.

Grand Marnier is a French liqueur brand owned by Campari, best known for Grand Marnier Cordon Rouge, an orange-flavoured liqueur created in 1880 by Alexandre Marnier-Lapostolle. It is made from a blend of Cognac brandy, distilled essence of bitter orange, and sugar, with an ABV of 40%.

A video and photo series featuring the US hip hop artist kicks off the brand’s new ‘The Rouge Room’ content campaign, which will invite different collaborators to the same space to endorse the brand.

Tauheed K. Epps, known professionally as 2 Chainz, can be seen making the brand’s ‘Grand Margarita’, which replaces triple sec with Grand Marnier, to celebrate Cinco de Mayo.

“I’ve always been a margarita fan, but I found the secret ingredient that makes the classic even better: Grand Marnier,” 2 Chainz said, according to a press release. “I tried a Grand Marnier Quintessence margarita a few years back on my show ‘Most Expensivest’ and let me tell you that blend of Cognac and orange is pure magic. It’s a whole vibe upgrade for your Margarita and drink style.”

The content series features a variety of video and photo stills rolling out across digital and social channels starting on 29 April through to September.

2 Chainz is the latest in a string of celebrity collaborations with Cognac-based brands. In April Hennessy launched a marketing campaign featuring American singer-songwriter Teyana Taylor alongside British-Nigerian actor Damson Idris, as a means of shaking up the brand image.

The brand, one of the ‘big four’ Cognac houses, is aiming the campaign specifically at a younger generation of drinkers. It hopes to “shake up people’s perception of the brand”, according to a press release put out by the Cognac producer.

Cognac houses have a history of working with American rappers and hip hop artists, with the likes of Jay-Z’s D’ussé brand and Curtis ’50 Cent’ Jackson’s Branson Cognac.

In March Jackson filed a US$6 million embezzlement case against owner of the brand Beam Suntory. It alleges that owner of the Jim Beam and Makers Mark bourbons was complicit in overcharging his Sire Spirits business for several years. This, he alleges, left him with large losses.