AdMiration feature: Jack Daniel’s “What Makes Old No. 7”

For this week’s AdMiration feature, we looked at consumer response to Jack Daniel’s “What Makes Old No. 7” ad, which highlights all the characteristics that make Jack Daniel’s legendary, across generations.

Read on to get our 3-2-1 snapshot of the ad (3 facts, 2 learnings and 1 reflection) and learn how their ad was received based on our data.

The ad, starting completely in black and white, opens to a water-filled cave as the Jack Daniel’s logo fades out on the screen and sounds of the echoey, trickling environment surround viewers’ ears. 

The screen fades to black as “No. 1” appears on screen and the voiceover (done by Jeff Bridges) begins, and a montage of cave images are shown, settling on a close up of the rock walls, as he says, “The cave. Where it all starts.” 

No. 2 appears on screen and the camera dives into the water of the cave as he continues, “The water. Pure, limestone filtered.” Flames and piles of burning wood then appear on screen in a burst of color behind No. 3 as he continues, “The fire. That makes the sugar maple charcoal.” The scene immediately shifts to the cooling charcoal behind No. 4, noted as “The charcoal. That makes every drop smooth.”  

A massive No. 5 takes over the screen and a montage of the Jack Daniel’s Lynchburg distillery is shown as Bridges says, “The condition. Same land, same town: Lynchburg, Tennessee, that’s been making whiskey for 160 years.” Another montage of photos of distillery employees are shown to seamlessly transition to No. 6, “The people who make it. To the people who drink it” as scenes from people-filled bars with Jack Daniel’s being poured are shown. The montages continue as “Old No. 7” appears on screen and the voiceover concludes, “That’s what makes Old No. 7. That’s what makes Jack, Jack.”

The ad concludes with a shot of a bartender placing a bottle of Jack Daniel’s on a bar top next to an ice-filled glass and the narrator closes with “Jack Daniel's Tennessee whiskey” as the screen fades to black and the Jack Daniel’s logo appears on screen.   

3 facts

• This was an exceptionally strong ad from Jack Daniel’s, which resonated strongly with consumers, landing in the top 1% of ads in both potential to drive short-term sales and brand equity over the longer term (Sales Impact: 99, Brand Impact: 100).

• The ad clearly communicated who the ad was for and what sets Jack apart from the rest, receiving high distinctiveness and brand recall scores from viewers (Distinctiveness: 4.2 vs. 3.9 norm, Brand recall: 89% vs. 67% norm), allowing them to clearly remember the brand and its benefits, with some people saying, “It clearly shows the culture behind Jack Daniels the community and how it is crafted and made to be the best” and “Going through the history gives Jack Daniels a huge value of not just taste, but the fact the process takes time to produce.” 

• The ad does a great job eliciting love for the Jack Daniels brand. From the second the Jack Daniels logo appears on the screen, viewers respond with love — but the highest spikes occur when the narrator says two key lines relating to the brand at the end: “That’s what makes old No. 7” and “That’s what makes Jack, Jack.” It’s a clear indication that these lines resonate with audiences and that the ad makes audiences feel positively toward the brand. 

2 learnings

• Nostalgia is a winning element. And this spot from Jack Daniel’s hits heavy with nostalgia from the start, ingraining the theme with the black and white opening, the story of how it all began, traditions and its history. In fact, these aspects are what drive the highest positive emotions from viewers, starting when the narrator says “that’s what makes old No. 7,” “That’s what makes Jack, Jack” and when the narrator talks about the tradition and the town of Lynchburg, TN. 

• The theme of togetherness resonates well with consumers, which is another big theme as the ad carries on. After hitting viewers with nostalgia, the ad starts to focus on the people, showing montages of old distillery workers in black and white and transitioning to present day with images of young people enjoying glasses of Jack Daniel’s in crowded bars, among groups of friends, etc., which led to some viewers sharing, “I liked the warm, authentic feel of the ad. The way it showed the whiskey being made and then enjoyed with friends made it feel real and inviting" and “I liked the origin story and the naming of the town, the photos of the people who make it, felt like a documentary.” 

1 reflection

Are you connecting with consumers across generations? While your brand may be tried and true for some, keep in mind that your brand story might get lost through generations. We all have a sense of belonging, who we are, our past, etc. and a resonant story of what makes the brand special and what it means to people can work as well with young as old generations to create warmth for a long established brand.

Always look to what makes you special, from your past or your product truths as you think of your future. Stories connected to your origin and product truths have a unique ability to create warmth for the brand and cannot fail to be well connected to your brand.

Jack Daniel’s “What Makes Old No. 7” ad is part of the brand’s latest “That’s What Makes Jack, Jack” campaign. 

Created in partnership with Energy BBDO, this campaign features a series of ads, including The Drop, The Call and Whiskey Like No Other, each designed to remind the world why Jack Daniel’s remains a household name for over 150 years.

Mark Bacon, SVP, Global Managing Director at Jack Daniel’s, shares: “This marks a return to our roots of how we tell the story of Jack Daniel’s Tennessee Whiskey. It’s anchored in who we are, where we come from and why we are a whiskey like no other.” 

Robin Laurens and Jonathan Fussell, Executive Creative Directors at Energy BBDO, add: “Say the name Jack in any bar in the world and everyone knows what you’re talking about. But to too much of the world Jack’s become just a bottle, a t-shirt. This campaign aims to reclaim the name and redefine it for today, reintroducing the brand with the iconicity Jack deserves.” 

This authentic, rootsy return that focuses on craftsmanship aims to re-establish Jack Daniel’s as a timeless symbol of independent spirit.

The campaign will roll out globally across TV, digital platforms, social media and in-store activations. 

This spot was a nostalgia-filled winner from the legendary Jack Daniel’s! The ad was exceptionally well-received by consumers, landing in the top 1% of ads in both potential to drive short-term sales and brand equity over the longer term (Sales Impact: 99, Brand Impact: 100).

Even though the brand has been around for more than 150 years, this spot served as a great reminder of who they are and what sets them apart from other whiskey brands. And consumers felt it, with viewers finding it to be not only highly distinctive (Distinctiveness: 4.2 vs. 3.9 norm) but also an ad that they enjoy (Enjoyment: 4.3 vs. 4.0 norm) and find very relevant to them (Relevance: 4.1 vs. 3.7 norm).  

The ad did an excellent job at making it undeniable who the ad was for, filled with visual branding at each step, the Jack Daniel’s logo and authentic photographs of their Tennessee distillery and people, resulting in an unsurprisingly high brand recall score (Brand Recall: 89% vs. 67% norm).

The ad also effectively communicates the brand’s intended message that Jack Daniel’s is the household name for whiskey, with audiences left feeling that the brand delivers on what they expect from a spirits brand (Brand Meets Needs: 4.4 vs. 4.1 norm), that Jack Daniels is different from other spirits brands (Brand Distinctiveness: 4.2 vs. 3.8 norm) and (even better) the ad makes them feel good about the Jack Daniels brand (Brand Appeal: 4.3 vs. 4.0 norm). 

On top of that, this spot also excelled at communicating a number of important attributes about the Jack Daniels brand, such as:

• Jack Daniel’s is high quality: 71% 

• Jack Daniel’s is great tasting: 65% 

• Jack Daniel’s stands for tradition: 58%

• Jack Daniel’s has timeless quality: 58% 

Chock-full of nostalgia, authenticity and togetherness, it’s no surprise this spot from Jack Daniel’s generated a lot of positive reactions from viewers — largely being “Love” which came in at 41% vs. 27% norm! In fact, the “Love” reaction dominated the second the Jack Daniel’s brand was shown on screen.

Overall, strong “Love” and “Like” reactions are seen throughout the whole ad, but the highest spikes are seen when the narrator says “that’s what makes old No. 7” followed by when he says “That’s what makes Jack, Jack,” when the narrator talks about the tradition and the town of Lynchburg, TN and when he talks about the people. There’s also a nice peak of surprise when the fire comes on screen, which is the first shot of color we have after the ad began completely in black and white. 

Ending it all on an emotional high means attention is retained right through to the end and people are left feeling incredibly positive towards the brand. It’s one of the most effective ways to create advertising that really works.

More than that, it was an example of beautiful craft. Not only is it a wonderful idea and nostalgic story, the craft in the filming and visual impact is incredible. A great example of a resonant idea and beautifully told story, that could only be for the brand.

Here’s what some people had to say about the ad:

• "I liked the black and white film style of the ad, it made it feel more old-timey, traditional, classic. I liked the origin story and the naming of the town, the photos of the people who make it, felt like a documentary. I enjoyed the narrator’s voice too."

• "I liked everything. I loved the theme of the journey from where Jack Daniels whiskey begins to where it ends. I liked the amount of background knowledge that is given in a short quick moving video, the images, the voice over, smoothness and that I learned."

• "I liked all of the aspects of the ad. Going through the history gives Jack Daniels a huge value of not just taste, but the fact the process takes time to produce. And produced in the US."

• "I liked the warm, authentic feel of the ad. The way it showed the whiskey being made and then enjoyed with friends made it feel real and inviting."

• "Liked the way they showed how it began, and how the tradition is still ongoing."

• "How it clearly shows the culture behind Jack Daniels the community and how it is crafted and made to be the best."

• "I like the nostalgic tone of the telling about the steps in making old no. 7 what it is."

This is a beautifully filmed, back-to-its-roots spot from a legendary brand! What did you think? Let us know by interacting with our coverage of the ad on LinkedIn.

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