Smirnoff Travel Retail Promotion

Challenge
In travel retail, the challenge wasn’t simply getting people to notice Smirnoff, it was giving travellers a compelling reason to choose a large 1-litre bottle at the point of purchase. The idea needed to add value, feel distinctive and make the product more relevant to the occasion people were travelling for.

Insight
For many travellers, the holiday starts before they even board the plane. A simple gift with purchase could become much more powerful if it extended the Smirnoff experience beyond the airport and into the holiday itself.

Idea

POUR YOURSELF A GLASS
Every purchase came with a flexible mould that allowed people to freeze their own shot glasses made entirely from ice. A simple product idea turned a standard bottle purchase into something playful, social and memorable, giving people a new way to serve Smirnoff when they reached their destination.

Execution
The custom rubber mould created four functioning ice shot glasses and was packaged alongside selected Smirnoff bottles as a gift with purchase. The promotion was supported by bespoke packaging and point-of-sale explaining the simple ritual:

Fill. Freeze. Pour. Drink.

Lightweight, compact and easy to take away, the mould was particularly suited to travel retail, adding novelty and perceived value without adding significant weight or bulk.

The idea was subsequently used across a number of Smirnoff variants, including Smirnoff Blue, White and Gold.

Result
The ice shot mould became a distinctive and long-running Smirnoff promotional property, extending across multiple product variants and retail executions.

Its repeated use demonstrated the strength of a simple piece of promotional design that added value at purchase while giving consumers a memorable way to experience the brand afterwards.

Years later, original Smirnoff ice-shot moulds and promotional packs continue to appear on the secondary market as collectable items.