Johnnie Walker has launched a female version of its whiskey in the US – Jane Walker, the bold move is in an attempt to attract more female drinkers. The introduction of Jane Walker represents the brand’s commitment to celebrate diversity among its consumers as well as push more contributions towards gender equality.
Johnnie Walker is the world’s number one Scotch whiskey and was first established by grocer John Walker in 1920. For more than a century, the Striding Man has been a Johnnie Walker icon and an important aspect of the brand’s history, however, women have played a significant role in the brand’s history, including the founder’s wife Elizabeth Walker. Recognizing their contributions, Johnnie Walker has added a female counterpart to its iconic symbol, and the new brand will have a striding woman on the label in place on the top-hatted man.
According to the London based owner, Diageo, they are looking forward to increasing female representation internally, increasing gender parity within the organization to 50 percent women by April.
Jane Walker is set to appear in 250,000 bottles in March and for every bottle sold, Diageo will donate one dollar to organizations that support women. The limited edition Black Label edition is set to release on March 1, 2018, which is a week before the International Women’s Day. The company is also hoping to widen the appeal of the product while celebrating women.
According to Stephanie Jacoby, the Vice President of Johnnie Walker, gender-based conversations maintain its position at the forefront, therefore, the brand strongly believes “there is no better time than now” for them to unveil the Jane Walker icon as well as contribute to ground-breaking organizations that are taking part in their mission.
The launch of Jane Walker becomes the latest part of the brand’s campaign, “Keep Walking America” which began in the year 2016 in attempt to speak to a wider audience with adverts, veterans, and Latinos. In 2017, Johnnie Walker out-did its competitors, growing by 18 percent following the revived cocktail culture in the country.
