FishEye Plans a TV Ad Campaign

Fisheye Wines rolled out their Pinot Grigio and Shiraz wines in 3-liter boxes last year. Now the winery plans to bring boxed wine to TV advertising.

Prime Time for Premium ''Boxed'' Wine TV Campaign Launches Fisheye Premium Wine Casks

Fisheye Wines, the innovative California premium winery offering award-winning Pinot Grigio, Chardonnay and Shiraz in 3-liter cask packaging, will roll out a $4.5 million national Television advertising campaign that premieres Oscar Week.

The hip 30-second spots, targeting influential 25-40 year old wine drinkers, will run on E! Channel's Live from the 2007 Academy Awards Red Carpet shows. Channel surfers may also catch the spot on prime-time ABC during first-run episodes of Desperate Housewives, Lost, Grey's Anatomy, Brothers and Sisters and Boston Legal throughout the first half of 2007.

The ads will reinforce the growing popularity of both Fisheye Wines and Premium Cask packaging. AC Nielsen data shows that Premium Cask is the fastest growing segment of the wine business, up 44 percent for the past 12 months, compared to just 3 percent increase in the total table wine category.

To convey the quality of Fisheye's award-winning wines, San Francisco integrated marketing agency B.A.R.C. Communications links the "new" casks to traditional ones used for centuries to store fine wines. One spot opens on a masterly painting in the William Hogarth tradition, depicting 18th century revelers tapping into a cask of wine. Through the magic of stop-motion animation, the old-world characters come alive and move into a modern-day pop art gathering.

Classic cell and computer-generated animation tells the rest of the story, including how each Fisheye cask stores the equivalent of four bottles of premium wine in a compact package that fits nicely in the fridge.

"Winemaking is an art, and so, increasingly, is its packaging," said B.A.R.C. Creative Director Alan Blavins. "As screw caps replace corks, wine aficionados are increasingly looking for alternative ways to keep wine fresh longer. Smarter-designed casks can maintain optimal taste for as long as six weeks. This campaign helps convey both the quality inside the cask and the quality of the cask itself."

"It's all about offering choices, but once premium wine consumers discover that ah-ha moment and that the exact same vintage-dated, bottled quality wine is available in both packages, there may be no turning back," says Fisheye spokeswoman, Laurie Lewis Jones. "It's simply a better way to enjoy a glass of fine wine a day."

Fisheye 2005 Pinot Grigio in the 3L cask was recently awarded a Gold Medal at the prestigious 2007 San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition. Fisheye Wines offer five premium vintage dated varietals--Shiraz, Chardonnay, Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon and Sauvignon Blanc in addition to the award-winning Pinot Grigio--sold in Premium Wine sections nationwide. www.fisheyewines.com

Happy Hours: Press Release

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