When Wild Turkey contacted movie/television star Matthew McConaughey about being their new brand spokesperson, they envisioned him as a good fit. So did he, so much so that McConaughey countered with a different proposal: he wanted to be the brand’s creative director.
“We thought to ourselves, ‘Okay, this could work well’,” recalled Robert Kunze-Concewitz, CEO of Gruppo Campari (which owns the whiskey brand) during a release party last night at The Wythe Hotel in Williamsburg, Brooklyn.
Two and a half years later, Wild Turkey and McConaughey have something to show for this unusual brand-celebrity relationship. He has filmed and released a short documentary about traveling to the Wild Turkey Distillery in Lawrenceburg, Kentucky, where me met the legendary Russell family of distillers who have led whiskey-making there for generations. And he and the brand have released the first of three planned commercials written by, directed, and starring McConaughey.
The release party was the public’s first view of the new commercial, which is now viewable on YouTube.
McConaughey said he plans for two more commercials over the next two years, continuing the story from the first ad.
Actor Matthew McConaughey and legendary Wild Turkey Master Distiller, Jimmy Russell, speak to guests during the world premiere of the Wild Turkey campaign with McConaughey on September 7, 2016 in Brooklyn. (Photo by Monica Schipper/Getty Images for Wild Turkey)
