Low-carb alcoholic beverage brand, Barry, is launching a brand new flavour, Cherry Vanilla Cola, and featuring two of its founders (and sports stars) in the TV advertisement that will run throughout the AFL finals season.
Launched in 2023 by AFL players Bailey Smith, Charlie Curnow, and Nick and Josh Daicos, Barry was inspired by the bars in downtown Tokyo, initially launching a shochu, vodka, and soda water RTD in two fruity flavours. Now the team is expanding to whisky cola, with the launch of Cherry Vanilla.
The ad is a playful parody of the infamous ‘Five Cougars, Thanks’ campaign for Cougar Bourbon which first aired in September 2001. This time it’s been contemporised with a female lead, and it’s Smith who plays the ‘himbo’ bartender, whose physical appearance and flowing blonde locks beguile the customer into a snap rethink of their drink order.
Smith said he was happy to poke fun at himself and felt the throwback ad concept was fitting for Barry’s brand and ‘loyals’ who don’t take life too seriously.
“The campaign encapsulates what the Barry brand is all about – being fun, in the moment and a bit provocative – and it connects with our target audience through humour and cultural nostalgia,” Smith said.
“We’ve been rapt with the reception we’ve had to Barry since launching exactly two years ago, to now be one of the fastest-growing brands in the ready-to-drink (RTD) category in Australia.”
Curnow, whose cameo in the ad reprises the role of the confused patron in the 2001 campaign who’s been bamboozled by the bartender’s looks, trying to remember his group’s drink order.
“The ad shoot was great fun, and Barry is definitely a passion project and creative outlet for us, but underpinning the brand’s light-hearted ‘persona’ there’s a very sound business and marketing strategy – which is necessary to have cut-through in such a competitive retail sector,” said Curnow.
“We’re really excited about Barry’s debut in the dark spirit RTD space with the whisky-based Cherry Vanilla Cola which will sit alongside our ranges of vodka- and agave-based sodas with punchy fruit flavours. Across all Barry products, we’ve stayed true to our focus on creating interesting drinks that are low-sugar, low-calorie, low-carb and big on flavour.”
Barry Cherry Vanilla Cola (330mL) will be available in cartons of 16, four-packs or single cans, heading into liquor stores across the country soon.
