HI-POST VODKA

Scenario
Our client asked us to design a label for their new vodka brand, Hi-Post Vodka. The direction was to convey a strong Heartland feel for the brand, reflecting the fact that it is a grain-to-glass vodka with a connection to 6th-generation farmers.

The Practical Approach
The vodka category is often one dimensional with brands focused on being fancy, imported, or just plain old. And “The Heartland” is also often reduced to the one-dimensional view of farming. Or simply “flyover country.”

Our Practically Dangerous Solution
However, consumers are decidedly not one-dimensional. Further, through research, we found that consumers are being pulled by two different competing forces: the longing for a simpler time, yet also the desire to rebel against the stability-seeking behaviors seeded during the pandemic.

This tension was at the core of our creative strategy, which we called Rebellious Nostalgia. It was the idea of capturing “Americana in a bottle,” but in a way that was more than one-dimensional and more modern. The design is a billboard for the nostalgia of The Heartland, reminiscent of the retro gas station signs you’d find on the side of historic two-lane Route 66, while it's also a brand that is infused with a modern, rebellious spirit.

In the end, we wanted the brand to be just as comfortable painted on the side of a barn as it is stickered on the side of a motorcycle helmet.