Juice Breaks Fourth Wall with Comedic #YouKnowJLohr Campaign

The Millennial generation may be notoriously skeptical of targeted ad campaigns, but smart marketers can agree that these young, powerful consumers hold two values above all else: Humor and authenticity. The trick is combining the two with subtlety and style.

Production company Juice Media took this truth to heart while crafting a new national ad campaign for J. Lohr Wines, a universally beloved brand that boasts 40-plus years as an industry mainstay. Historically, the California-based winery had not reached out to younger audiences. Juice Media took on the challenge with gusto and ingenuity.

“We combined the best production value possible with some incredibly talented up-and-coming-comedic actors.” said Juice Media owner and creative director Dina Mande.  Known for her “Paso Wine Man” phenomenon vibrant Visit California’s “Dream Eater series and a host of other award-winning creative work,  Mande believes in advertising as art.

#YouKnowJLohr introduces Millenials to a host of real life characters grappling with honest wine conundrums: a yearning young professional grapples what to bring to the bosses party; an exasperated 20something contends with the “ginormous wall of wine” at her local grocer. The fourth wall is obliterated, just as are expectations about what a “wine commercial” should be.

More than 100 actors vied for parts in the eight-video series, which includes six consumer commercials and two internal J. Lohr sales videos. Mande and her team left no stone unturned, reaching into known comedic gold mines like Upright Citizen’s Brigade Theater, The Groundlings and Improv Olympics.

The ground breaking series centers around J. Lohr’s flagship wines: J. Lohr Estates Riverstone Chardonnay and Seven Oaks Cabernet Sauvignon.” It  includes video, social media, and Web advertising, complemented by trade and consumer print advertising, POS and branded merchandise, with all the photography also shot by Mande.

The #YouKnowJLohr Riverstone Campaign concludes August 31 and overlaps with the #YouKnowJLohr Seven Oaks Campaign, which commences on August 1. To view and explore, visit jlohr.com/YouKnowJLohr.