The Macallan has collaborated with graphic designer David Carson to create a new campaign for the festive season. Featuring striking artwork in Carson’s signature iconoclastic style, the Speyside distillery’s new campaign focuses on a selection of five distinctive single malt whiskies which reflect the uncompromised pursuit of excellence which has driven The Macallan since its inception in 1824.
Each of the expressions – The Macallan Double Cask 12 Years Old, Sherry Oak 18 Years Old, Sherry Oak 25 Years Old, Rare Cask and Estate – also share key characteristics with David Carson and his award-winning work, including uniqueness, innovation, craftsmanship and complexity.
David Carson, born in Texas, 1954, is considered one of the world’s most influential graphic designers. Also a professional surfer, he began his career as a magazine designer, before in the 1990s becoming art director of the magazine Ray Gun where his experimental page layouts featuring pioneering use of typography revolutionised the field of graphic design.
His work has been displayed in one-man shows across the world and he is a recipient of the AIGA, which is renowned as the design profession’s highest accolade. Since establishing his own studio, he has created campaigns for some of the world’s leading consumer brands including Nike, Levi, Pepsi and Ray Ban.
The American artist’s collaboration with The Macallan brings together bold, fractured typography with graphic illustrations of notable flavors present in the five featured whiskies and playful representations of the festive season. Straplines include: I love it; Nothing less will do; You don’t have to; and You know me so well.
The designs will be published digitally and in print, with David’s name and signature appearing on all communications throughout the course of the campaign.
“David Carson is an extraordinary visionary whose ground-breaking graphic designs continue to excite and inspire to this day,” commented Jaume Ferras, Global Creative Director for The Macallan. “Like The Macallan, he is renowned for his unique style and mastery of his trade. Working with him has been an incredible process and we look forward to revealing the results of our collaboration over the festive season.”
It has been a busy few months for The Macallan. Earlier in November, the distillery unveiled its Distil Your World: The London Edition Whisky, which looks to deliver “a sensorial journey through one of the world’s greatest capital cities.”
In October, The Macallan debuted the newest addition to its iconic Fine & Rare Collection, The 1993 Edition. The new expression joins a collection that started 20 years ago and features Whiskies from eight decades, 1926 to 1993.
In September, the distillery launched Edition No.6. The new limited edition single malt Scotch Whisky honors the water that gives life to the distillery and surrounding land, as well as marks the end of a chapter, as it will be the final addition to The Macallan’s celebrated Edition Series.