Penfolds Venture Beyond

Penfolds invites new luxurians on a fantastical journey into the deep sea, with concept and design by LOVE

Penfolds is launching a new campaign that plays on the brand’s adventurous, brave and optimistic spirit, to capture the imagination of the new luxury consumer as well as the fine wine connoisseur.

With concept and visual execution by creative agency LOVE, the campaign encompasses a collection of limited-edition gift sets as well as communications, retail and immersive installations. It builds on last year’s introduction of Penfolds new master brand line, ‘Venture Beyond’, through a limited-edition campaign which took the brand into the exciting world of space exploration and marked a strategic shift for Penfolds from ‘fine wine’ brand to ‘global luxury icon’.

Since 1844, Penfolds winemakers have pushed boundaries, constantly venturing beyond, looking to new horizons, new possibilities and new worlds to propel the brand.

Kristy Keyte, Chief Marketing Officer at Penfolds says: “We are proud to unveil our new global thematic ‘Venture Beyond 2023’ to the world. Driven by self-belief and pioneers by nature, Penfolds continues to journey into the unknown, looking beneath the surface to explore the depths of possibility. Our latest venture into the deep sea is a testament to this, allowing us to activate our brand values and DNA in unexpected, creative, and consistent ways across global platforms.”

Diving into the brand

This year’s theme takes the Penfolds customer on a dreamy journey into an immersive ocean world. Working with Australian artist Mikaela Stafford, LOVE created a series of visuals with depth and imagination, unveiling the flavours and stories of the brand in an enchanting way. It draws people in, enticing them through playful detail (spot the corkscrew fish, the wine glass coral and the grapes between the sea kelp in the intricate underwater landscape).

Following on from last year’s thematic of ‘Space’, the deep of the oceans presented another realm of possibility to continue a globally consistent story of adventure that allows Penfolds to stand out from competitor brands across luxury lifestyle sectors.

Chris Jeffreys, Creative Director at LOVE, said: “The spirit of Penfolds has always been about going further and doing something differently. As a brand, Penfolds is confident, brave, and innovative. Those are attributes that luxury brands demonstrate on a day-to-day basis, and a campaign like this is a good opportunity to showcase them with unique personality. If you want to reach new people, you need to try something new and behave in fresh and exciting ways. Limited editions are a great way of doing this with impact.”

The approach

For this year’s campaign, LOVE has created striking limited edition and core packaging, key visuals, and concepts and guidelines for further activations across multiple touchpoints – in a sea of Penfolds red – to draw consumers in.

Limited edition packs include the Bin 389 Scuba Mask Pack. Inspired by diving masks, it features the wondrous underwater artwork, using paperboard in a stunning and visually disruptive way. With a uniquely tactile and premium feel, it encourages consumers to dive deeper into the Penfolds world. The Bin 28 comes in a premium paperboard tube pack and the limited editions for Max’s in a presentation box, both also featuring the fantastical coral motifs. All paperboard is made from 75% recycled materials and the gift editions are 100% recyclable.

The Venture Beyond thematic will be rolled out across packaging, point of sale, gifting, digital and experiential this month.