Notorious Beam Team

I was very honoured to be invited to the public unveiling of the "Tanqueray Taste for Life" photography exhibition at Liberty's in assocation with Magnum. A stunning space in Liberty's was transformed into a photography gallery showcasing the winning entries into the contest along with some classics from the Magnum portfolio.

The Taste for Life contest asked entrants to capture “rich, intense moments in life". Moments that Tanqueray would like to be a part of. It's a really interesting area from a strategic as well as photographic perspective. From a brand point of view it deliberately hasn't asked for "refreshing moments" which is what gin brands tend to do. They typically focus on the thirst quenching, refreshing territory. But as a premium gin brand, Tanqueray is playing in a more upmarket, premium space that almost feels celebratory. And from a photographer's point of view the area of rich intense moments in life" is a far richer playground than refreshment.

Tanqueray's involvement with photography also fits the TGI data that maps against drinkers of premium gin brands. Taking photographs and appreciating photography is something that fits well with a premium spirits brand.

Partipants were given the brief along with some inspirational shots from Stuart Franklin, the President of Magnum. Not only did this give the competition serious credibility, but also direction. It's interesting that Diageo always features 2 glasses in its ads... and likewise how Stuart Franklin's pictures show 2 people. The idea being that Tanqueray is a sociable drink for sharing life's rich moments.

"... a competition is being run by the makers of Tanqueray gin to give ten photographers a chance to feature in the Magnum Photos exhibition as well as winning a top prize of £5,000. Entrants in the two age categories (18-24) and (25+) will need to capture their interpretation of a 'Taste for Life' and provide their own rich, intense moments. To help guide entrants there will be five categories to enter covering adventure, relationships, cocktails & glamour, achievements and festivals & celebrations.

All entrants will be judged by a panel of experts including Stuart Franklin, President of Magnum Photos, Jeremy Langmead, Editor of Esquire magazine, Alan Sparrow, Picture Editor of Metro, Nicky Catley, Picture Editor of The Daily Telegraph and Kristof Fahey, Vice President of Marketing for Yahoo! Europe.

To inspire entrants, the makers of Tanqueray have commissioned Stuart Franklin to capture his own 'Taste for Life' images. To view these images and enter the competition visit www.ATasteForLife.co.uk. A shortlist of forty entries will be selected for the final judging process and all pictures will also be put forward for the public to vote for a People's Choice to feature in the exhibition."

Tanqueray partnered with Flickr to earn credibiliy in the photograpic arena. It's a great model for a contest and produced some fantastic images.

Here are some images from the event:











I love the Ali picture in its own right, but in a funny way I just find this shot more amusing. I love the fact that he looks like he is pouncing on the people in front of him at the event.





The winning entry: Daniel Clinch's image ‘Treading a Fresh Path'as covered in the Telegraph.

We were treated to some fabulous cocktails. My favourite was the English Garden, made with elderflower cordial and apple juice. But the Grapefruit and Passion Fruit number wasn't half bad either. Especially when accompanied by a scallop wrapped in pancetta!



I am also told that these people are famous... but I neither know who they are or have heard about them in conjunction with Tanqueray since.









I like Tanqueray's Taste for Life idea becuase...

1. It makes Tanqueray seem very premium
2. The area of photography fits with their target audience
3. Partnering with Magnum and Stuart Franlin adds gravitas and a media hook
4. Partnering with Flickr makes the engagement side work and amplifies the contest within the photographic community
5. The use of media and timescale ensured that the programme was talked about before (Off Licence News and Spitoon) and after the event on Londonist and in the Telegraph
6. It fits in really well with their ongoing sampling presence at Taste of xxxx events

Well done Tanqueray and Jo and the team at Trimedia and thanks for the incredible goodie bag.