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- 12(ish)-AUG-2023 | Ogilvy’s “Schweppes Mutiny” Ad
12(ish)-AUG-2023 | Ogilvy’s “Schweppes Mutiny” Ad
Dan Bogachek
August 13, 2023
Ogilvy’s “Schweppes Mutiny” Ad
Another from the legend himself. It’s a banger.
“It’s mutiny to mix a Gin-and-Tonic without Schweppes”
It seems like only yesterday that Commander Edward Whitehead, Schweppeman in charge of enlightening un-Schwepped regions, first set foot on our shores.
Americans discovered Schweppes delicious bittersweet flavor. They tasted Schweppervescence — those exuberant little bubbles that tickle the palate and delight the soul.
Soon Schweppes in Gin-and-Tonic became unwritten law throught the land. And on the high seas. (Today, in American waters, it is considered mutiny to mix a Tonic Drink without Schweppes.)
Only Schweppes — the original Tonic — has that curiously refreshing bittersweet flavor. A flavor that has been famous since Commander Whitehead’s great-great-grandfather was a midshipman. Only Schweppes has Schweppervescence. And it lasts your whole drink through.
P.S. Have you tried Schweppes with Vodka, or Rum? Great additions to your Schweppertory!
Some things which stood out to me:
1/ This ad has lore, dammit. In a single sentence, Ogilvy manages to: introduce a character, describe his purpose, then make that character take an action, then indicate time elapsed since that action — all from the perspective of a bystander’s recollection. PACKED. Right out of the gate, the first sentence delivers us an intriguing exposition.
2/ Refreshing sentence variability, and great variance between the “narrator” tone and the “friend” tone.
3/ Killer use of the P.S. They’re using it to quite literally upsell you on use cases for Schweppes — “it’s not just for gin-and-tonic, it’s also good for the rest of your liquor cabinet".
Breaking down the structure:
1/ Story exposition. It marks the introduction of Schweppes to the American continent, and the man responsible for it.
2/ Social proof + story unfolds. It presents Americans as a big blob; implied is that the country as a whole found Schweppes delicious. And, of course, detailing what specifically they found delicious as a touchpoint to revisit later.
3/ Hamming up the cult following — “became unwritten law” and “mutiny”. It’s their legend, so of course they’ll play things up. It feels like a subtle trick: by exaggerating the level of cult following for the drink, the reader’s internal rebuttal targets the size of the following rather than its existence. Just like that, we’ve planted the idea, “I don’t know exactly how big, but Schweppes has a sizable following.”
4/ The selling part. There’s a certain comfort to it. The sentences start more formal and longer, but gradually become more casual as we progress through the paragraph — it feels a bit like a friend talking to us and adding more details as short fragments. “And it lasts the whole drink through.” = “Oh, by the way” + “‘it lasts the whole drink through’ is a statement of truth”.
5/ P.S. upsell, and an opportunity for another knee-slapper to ham it up. “Schweppertory”
