Skyy Spirits Finds Love with 'Sex and the City'

March 17, 2008

By Eric Newman

The Sex and the City girls will be mixing up their Cosmos with Skyy Vodka this spring.

Skyy Spirits, San Francisco, announced today that its vodka will be the official spirit brand of New Line Cinema's Sex and the City, a much-hyped forthcoming film that revisits a popular HBO series. Skyy Vodka and Cabo Wabo Tequila will be featured prominently in the film (May 30 release date), while back bars will be stocked with other alcoholic beverages from Skyy's house collection including Midori, Cutty Sark and Campari.

Skyy will unveil a series of print, online and outdoor co-branded ads that will rollout starting in late April. The ads will run in books such as Entertainment Weekly and OK!, and outdoor in New York and Los Angeles. An online sweepstakes will kick off April 1 and will run through May 5 on Skyy's Web site (www.skyy.com/sexandthecity). The grand prize is a two-day trip for two to the New York City premiere of Sex and the City.

Kirsten van Sickle, senior brand manager at Skyy, said the TV series' reputation for high glamour and contemporary style made it a good fit for a marketing deal with New Line Cinema.

"Sex and the City was the single most cultural icon that reinvented the cocktail craze back when it was a series on HBO, when it really helped to mainstream the cosmopolitan and cocktail culture," van Sickle said. "We really think that the build up to this film is like the Super Bowl for women. People are planning to see it months in advance, and you can't open any magazine without seeing coverage of it. We think that the film will be yet another cultural phenomenon."

As part of its on-premise marketing, the company also has created signature cocktails, which incorporate Skyy products, inspired by personalities of the lead characters Carrie, Samantha, Charlotte and Miranda. "The Carrie," for example, will be a Skyy cosmopolitan cocktail mixed with mango juice; "The Samantha" will be a tequila cocktail made with Cabo Wabo; and "The Miranda" will use Campari as the main ingredient.

The company's promotional agenda also includes two charity screenings of the film, following its premiere. The first, held in Los Angeles, will benefit the AIDS Project LA, and the second, held in San Francisco, will benefit the San Francisco AIDS Foundation.

Spend for the initiative, which will coincide with the relaunch of the brand's fruit-infused flavored vodka line, Skyy Infusions, was not revealed. Skyy spent $14.9 million on advertising in 2007, per TNS.

© 2008 Nielsen Business Media, Inc.