To capitalize on the excitement of an election year, Campari’s 2016 Calendar stars actress Kate Hudson as two opposing political candidates—Bitter and Sweet—in a play on the Italian classic aperitif’s flavor profile.
Campari calls on drinkers to share their opinion and take a stand by following the campaign through the brand’s social channels and via the hashtags #goBitter and #goSweet. A new website lets users vote and provides live updates on each party’s progress; consumers who are on the fence can take the BitterSweet test to see which party they belong to.
Fashion photographer Michelangelo di Battista captured the 2016 calendar images of Hudson on the Campari campaign trail. The six-day shoot in New York included dramatic sets and a wardrobe of Campari-red designer outfits for Hudson.
For Hudson’s part, the calendar is a way to get in touch with her Italian roots—she noted in a press conference launching the 2016 Campari campaign that her father is Sicilian. It was also an opportunity to represent a “very sophisticated liquor.”
Her favorite Campari drink? The Negroni overall, although the Boulevardier “is really good going into fall and winter,” and the Jasmine (gin, Campari, lemon juice and Cointreau) “is really surprising,” Hudson said. “I didn’t know the extent of the drinks you can create with Campari.”
Now in its 17th year, the Campari calendar started as a creative whim, according to Gruppo Campari CEO Bob Kunze-Concewitz. It was a unique way to use 12 episodes to tell the brand story. Campari, which prints just 9,999 copies of the calendar, doesn’t sell them; they are given to friends of the brand.
(Pictured at top, from left: photographer Michelangelo di Battista, actress Kate Hudson, Campari CEO Bob Kunze-Concewitz)
