Snoop Dogg has apparently given up his signature gin and juice for the more refined taste of red wine, teaming up with the Australian wine brand 19 Crimes on a new multi-year partnership called Cali Red.
To mark the product’s Canadian launch, 19 Crimes worked with multimedia artists in Vancouver and Calgary to create a pair of seven-foot tall installations “inspired” by the rapper turned media personality. A Toronto activation will follow when the product launches in LCBO stores in the coming months. “Snoop Uncorked” was developed and executed by Craft Public Relations, with Toronto’s Ashley McKenzie-Barnes for artist curation.
It features work from Carson Ting’s Vancouver based art and design studio Chairman Ting, and Calgary-based Tyler Lemermeyer (who specializes in illustrations, animation and murals). Both of the installations incorporate elements of the Cali Red product.
“When Snoop is the face of your product, you need culture-creating, category-disrupting and rebellious marketing activities,” said 19 Crimes parent the Mark Anthony Group of the marketing activation, which kicked off last week.
Chairman Ting’s installation, selected from five concepts presented to the client, consists of a 3D rendering of Snoop Dogg wearing clothing featuring hand-painted California iconography such as the lowrider cars and palm trees, with the paint including some of the Cali Red product. A full behind-the-scenes look at the installation’s creation can be viewed below.
Lemermeyer’s installation, meanwhile, features the entertainer standing in a sea of abstract shapes representing the Pacific Ocean, with speakers grouped together like grapes. The entire installation sits atop a base made of actual Cali Red corks.
For people unable to see the installations in person, 19 Crimes has also created a “virtual Snoop experience” using AR technology. People can experience the installations by scanning the wine’s label with their mobile device.
Cali Red is described as a red blend consisting of 65% Syrah, 30% Zinfandel and 5% Merlot containing “rich vanilla and chocolate notes and hints of smoke” (the latter seeming entirely appropriate given Snoop’s well-known proclivity for cannabis).
