In October 2019, it was time to launch a brand new Limited Edition Ardbeg Supernova bottling. Supernova has been an undeniably popular bottling in previous years, so we knew this would be something the dedicated Ardbeg Committee members would be very excited for.

When designing, we needed to stick within the Supernova ‘brand’, which meant coming up with a creative concept for the bottle that sits within the visual metaphor of space, or a similar territory. This bottle was being released 4 years on from the last Supernova ‘conclusion’ bottling, so we needed to give it a reason for coming around again and communicate that story through the art and copy. It was important not to repeat any previous concepts and add an exciting new twist on the theme to engage our audience. This gave us a real opportunity to dial up our more playful side of the brand, to make it highly desirable and collectable.

My art idea, alongside the copy, needed to heavily communicate the extremely peaty flavour profile - the whisky’s USP. We also ultimately needed our buyers to recognise Ardbeg’s unorthodox and untamed attitude through the design and messaging.

I landed on an exciting design based on the idea of ‘Supernova meets Supernatural’. With emphasis on the tasting notes and the voyage they’ll take you on, exploring how SN2019 will change all known sensory perceptions of what a whisky can be. The extraterrestrial art was then illustrated by Iain McIntosh.

We also developed a comms strategy in order to maintain momentum for the 5th release of Supernova and raise awareness for the brand. The bottling was supported by an email campaign (including an intriguing encrypted message to tease committee members), social media and website landing page.