Why the Henny-rita is key to Hennessy winning over a new generation of cognac drinkers

Many brands work overtime courting high-income consumers. That’s never been a problem for 259-year-old cognac brand Hennessy. Even amid a 17% decline in U.S. cognac sales volume, according to beverage market insights firm IWSR, it continues to index well among deep-pocketed drinkers.

In fact, Cory Soutar, vice president of global marketing for the Hennessy’s premium range of spirits, says cognac is “in a challenging situation because it’s seen by consumers as something that’s quite status-oriented and serious.”

Many vintage Hennessy ads don’t help with that perception. The brand’s marketing has positioned it as a luxury. In the 1930s, Hennessy ads feature men in white tie enjoying the cognac. Ads from the 1960s promote cognac as the perfect post-ride drink for a female equestrian. More recently, cognac’s association with hip-hop—Soutar touts Hennessy’s status as the genre’s most-mentioned spirit—has softened its highfalutin image. But Soutar says consumer research nevertheless finds that “people didn’t see Hennessy as versatile.”

Enter the brand’s “Made for More” campaign. Produced in partnership with ad firm Wieden+Kennedy, “Made for More” features five videos directed by ad and music video veteran Andreas Nilsson and starring Teyana Taylor and Snowfall actor Damson Idris. The videos feature elaborate methods for mixing Hennessy cocktails—from a simple Hennessy ginger to the only slightly more elaborate “Henny-rita,” in which the cognac replaces tequila—to reinforce the idea that Hennessy is as easy to mix as any other spirit.

The campaign exceeded Hennessy’s expectations, and the brand has been bringing the frozen Henny-rita to festivals like Lollapalooza, Broccoli City, and Afro-nation. This fall, it partnered with LeBron James, who promoted his limited-edition cognac bottles by sharing his own twist on the Henny-rita (he adds a splash of orange juice).

Soutar acknowledges that purists may always raise an eyebrow at the thought of mixing cognac rather than drinking it neat, but he notes that the brand’s eighth-generation master blender, Renaud Fillioux de Gironde, is himself a fan of a Hennessy ginger.

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