Johnnie Walker and Sabrina Carpenter Hit a High Note in Whisky Marketing at the Grammys

A Star-Powered Partnership at Music’s Biggest Night

Diageo’s Johnnie Walker - the world’s top Scotch whisky by volume - turned music’s biggest weekend into a showcase for its evolving brand strategy. The Scotch label enlisted 24-year-old pop star Sabrina Carpenter as a global partner in 2025, and the 68th Grammy Awards in Los Angeles marked the latest phase of this multi-year collaboration.

Carpenter, fresh off six Grammy nominations this year, brought her youthful fanbase and cultural cachet to the heritage whisky brand. The goal was clear: celebrate achievement and “inject new energy” into the whisky category by pairing Johnnie Walker with a cultural trailblazer from the music world.

Carpenter’s appeal to younger audiences aligns with Johnnie Walker’s ambition to reshape how and where whisky is enjoyed. By partnering with a rising pop icon, the brand signaled it is “continuing to partner with cultural trailblazers” and reaching beyond traditional whisky demographics. (It’s a bold choice - Carpenter herself once admitted she didn’t initially enjoy whisky, an attitude the campaign playfully addressed to show that tastes and perceptions can evolve.) Johnnie Walker’s Global Head of Whisky, John Williams, described the Grammy weekend activation as “the perfect celebration” of the partnership, raising a toast (in this case, a Go Go Highball cocktail) to Carpenter’s progress and milestones as an artist.

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Immersive Grammy Weekend Activations

Johnnie Walker’s presence during Grammy weekend was anything but subtle. The brand executed a series of high-impact activations across Los Angeles that blended spectacle, celebration, and savvy product placement.

Johnnie Walker made its presence known in Los Angeles with large-scale animations: a drone display of its iconic “Striding Man” logo (left) and a projection of the “Go Go Highball” cocktail name on the Capitol Records building (right). To kick off the festivities on January 31, Johnnie Walker literally lit up the night. A synchronized drone show traced the whisky’s famed Striding Man logo in the sky, while nearby an adjacent skyscraper beamed giant projection-mapped visuals announcing the Go Go Highball - Carpenter’s signature Johnnie Walker Black Label cocktail. This striking display emblazoned the Los Angeles skyline, ensuring the campaign made headlines and social media impressions even before any party started.

The experiential push continued on the ground with exclusive events. Johnnie Walker served as the official spirits partner at some of the weekend’s most coveted pre- and post-ceremony parties, including those hosted by Universal Music Group, where music industry VIPs toasted with the Go Go Highball in hand. The cocktail itself - a mix of Johnnie Walker Black Label, ginger ale and sour cherry juice - became the “drink of the moment,” deliberately positioned as the must-have refreshment for Grammy winners and nominees celebrating their success.

At the heart of the weekend was a private, Sabrina Carpenter-inspired afterparty that Johnnie Walker staged at Max and Helen’s, a trendy L.A. lounge. The venue was transformed into a whimsical “fantasyland” per Carpenter’s aesthetic. Cherry blossom decorations, a vintage car overflowing with flowers, and a live DJ brought Carpenter’s latest album imagery to life in the décor. Naturally, the Go Go Highball was front and center at the bar throughout the night, reinforcing the cocktail’s association with glamour and celebration.

Johnnie Walker even extended the Grammy buzz to everyday consumers: for a limited time, Los Angeles bars like Melrose Umbrella Company, The Roger Room and Hotel Figueroa are featuring the Go Go Highball on their menus. This way, local fans and whisky newcomers who saw the Grammy hype can literally taste the campaign themselves, bridging an exclusive event with a broader audience experience.

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Engaging the Next Generation of Whisky Drinkers

This Grammy activation underscores how Johnnie Walker is leveraging pop culture to court new drinkers. For a 200-year-old Scotch brand, partnering with a 20-something pop singer represents a strategic shift toward younger, diverse consumers. Carpenter’s massive online following (nearly 50 million Instagram followers alone) gives Johnnie Walker access to a vibrant fanbase that might not have considered Scotch whisky before. By aligning with an artist who commands such influence, Johnnie Walker gains cultural relevance in spaces like social media and music venues where legacy liquor brands seldom trend.

In fact, Johnnie Walker is not alone in this approach - it reflects a wider industry trend. Beverage companies are increasingly collaborating with musicians and other cultural figures to refresh their image and reach new demographics. Such campaigns bank on the star’s social media reach and cultural cachet to modernize the brand’s perception. In Johnnie Walker’s case, working “hand-in-hand with the newest voice” in its story is a way to tell fresh narratives about whisky. The partnership allows the brand to appear on concert stages, award-show parties and Instagram feeds, effectively meeting young adults where they already are.

Crucially, the collaboration has been built with authenticity in mind. Rather than a one-off endorsement, Johnnie Walker brought Carpenter on as a creative partner with a multi-faceted role. Since August 2025, when the partnership launched ahead of her Short n’ Sweet tour, Carpenter has been a recurring face and voice for the whisky. Johnnie Walker even crafted campaign elements around her own work - the Go Go Highball’s name and flavor were inspired by “Go Go Juice,” a track on Carpenter’s album Man’s Best Friend. Earlier in the collaboration, the brand released a film featuring Carpenter that cheekily dispelled the old notion that “whisky wasn’t her drink,” signaling that Scotch isn’t just a man’s domain and that tastes change. By weaving Carpenter’s personal narrative and creativity into the marketing, Johnnie Walker ensures the campaign feels like a genuine cultural moment rather than a contrived ad pitch.

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Marketing Strategy Insights and Brand Impact

For alcohol brand executives, Johnnie Walker’s Grammy campaign provides a textbook example of experiential marketing done right. First, it capitalized on a global entertainment event with high media and social media visibility, ensuring maximum exposure. The use of dramatic outdoor media (drones and projection mapping) created visual buzz and free publicity - images of the illuminated skyline were likely shared widely, associating Johnnie Walker with a cutting-edge, celebratory vibe.

Second, the campaign centered on a product - the Go Go Highball cocktail - tailored to the occasion and the partner. This gave the partnership a tangible “hero” offering to promote, rather than just a logo on a backdrop. By serving a custom drink that ties into the artist’s brand, Johnnie Walker positioned itself as part of the celebration, not just a sponsor. If the Go Go Highball proves popular, it could even become a lasting addition to bar menus, extending the campaign’s legacy beyond the Grammy weekend.

Another notable aspect is the multi-channel reach of the activation. It combined real-life events (parties, bar menus) with digital and media elements (the skyline stunt, social media content via Carpenter). This integrated approach maximizes engagement - from VIP influencers sipping cocktails on Instagram Stories to local fans trying the drink at their neighborhood bar. Such synergy between exclusive experiences and broader availability is key to turning a marketing splash into sustained consumer interest.

There are, of course, challenges in pulling off campaigns like this. Ensuring brand consistency while giving a young artist creative freedom requires delicate balance. Additionally, traditional whisky loyalists might view pop-oriented stunts skeptically. Johnnie Walker seems aware of this, emphasizing that partnering with Carpenter is about reshaping the future of how and where people enjoy Johnnie Walker without losing its core identity. As long as the brand maintains quality and authenticity (for example, by highlighting the whisky’s role in the cocktail, not masking it), such experiments can broaden the brand’s appeal without alienating long-time customers.

Early indicators suggest the strategy is paying off in raising Johnnie Walker’s cultural profile. The buzz around the Grammys events and the positive reception of Carpenter’s involvement hint that the brand successfully inserted itself into trending conversations. We’ll know in time if this translates to measurable boosts in sales or brand equity among younger demographics. However, even in the near term, Johnnie Walker has reaped invaluable brand visibility from the Grammy weekend - an outcome many marketing teams strive for when investing in experiential partnerships.

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Diageo’s Broader Strategy and Industry Moves

Johnnie Walker’s high-profile partnership with Sabrina Carpenter also aligns with Diageo’s broader marketing playbook. The liquor giant has been doubling down on celebrity partnerships for its flagship brands. In January 2026, Diageo unveiled Sex and the City actress Sarah Jessica Parker as the global ambassador for its Tanqueray gin, as part of a new campaign featuring “hand-picked cultural voices” to celebrate the brand’s craftsmanship. Like Johnnie Walker tapping a pop star to reinvigorate Scotch, Tanqueray is harnessing Parker’s iconic status to modernize the gin’s image for cosmopolitan consumers.

At the same time, Diageo is streamlining its portfolio to focus on these big, culturally resonant plays. Just days before the Grammys, the company completed the sale of Sheridan’s - a minor coffee-cream liqueur brand - to a smaller spirits firm. And in Australia, Diageo’s venture arm exited its stake in Starward Whisky, returning the craft distillery to its founder’s control. These moves suggest Diageo is concentrating resources on its core global brands and high-impact initiatives. In practice, that means more partnerships like Johnnie Walker & Carpenter, which can drive global buzz, and fewer distractions with niche labels or experimental investments.

For the C-suite of an alcohol brand, the takeaway is clear: authenticity and cultural relevance are becoming as crucial as product quality. Diageo’s approach illustrates that in an era when younger consumers value experiences and personal connections, aligning your brand with the right influencers and events can yield significant dividends. However, it also requires a willingness to innovate (even if it means projecting cocktail names onto city skyscrapers) and a careful calibration of brand messaging across both legacy and new audiences.

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Conclusion

Johnnie Walker’s collaboration with Sabrina Carpenter at the Grammys showcases a forward-thinking blend of entertainment, storytelling and strategic branding. By toasting music’s biggest night with an innovative campaign, the Scotch icon managed to honor its “Keep Walking” heritage while striding confidently into new cultural territory. The positive buzz generated in Los Angeles underscores the power of meeting consumers where they are - be it at a star-studded afterparty or on a social media feed - and giving them a fresh reason to engage with a classic brand. In the ultra-competitive spirits market, such people-first marketing, rooted in genuine experience and savvy partnerships, may well be the key to staying relevant for the next generation of whisky lovers.