The holidays are the most popular time to drink bourbon, but the brand of bourbon most seasonal drinkers use matters a lot less than the eggnog. To make the bourbon we drink in holiday moments matter, our client, Maker’s Mark, would need to improve upon the traditions people recreate every year.

Enter the holiday sweater – a tradition that decorates our landfills and one in dire need of reimagining.

We partnered with women-owned, sustainable fashion brand The Endery to keep the tradition of ugly holiday sweaters from adding to the waste of fast fashion by creating a small batch of handknit sweaters using only pre-existing, deadstock wool.

The design is inspired by Maker’s Mark’s limited-edition holiday labels and celebrates the purposeful, handcrafted heritage of both brands. The vintage-esque patchwork knits speak to the Americana craftsmanship associated with Maker’s Mark and blend seamlessly with The Endery’s playful sense of color and Peruvian influence.

We extended the theme of re-imagined holiday nostalgia into a fully integrated holiday campaign, reaching consumers at every touch point, including retail, connected TV, social and interactive digital.

Our sweaters were covered by business, fashion and bourbon media – earning over 95 million impressions on the social video alone and over 218.4 million impressions overall – with support from celebrities like Rachel Brosnahan who are connected to sustainable fashion.

For even more lasting impact, 100% of the profits were donated back to the Peruvian knitting community to ensure the art of sustainable handcrafted sweatering lives for generations.

Doe-Anderson submitted this case study in the 2023 Globeys: https://youtu.be/0SXBqdTNrnM