Many Indian consumers of alcohol acquire a taste for rum in their youth (partly driven by the universally low price point of all Indian rums) but as they move up in life, they graduate to drinks that are more expensive. Rum, the taste of their youth stays in the private domain, drunk only with drinking buddies and is not consumed in the open as a social drink.

McDowell’s  ‘Aruba’, a premium new offering in rum, named after the Caribbean island, needed a new image to make it appealing as a social drink. Taking a cue from the history of rum as a drink that originated in the sugarcane plantations of the Caribbean, we decided to leverage the name Aruba for the host of strong associations it evoked - the island, genuine quality rum and the brave maritime adventurers attracted to the region.  A brand personality was created of a man who celebrates adventure and revels in the rewards, closely mirroring the personality of the rum drinker, an honest man who is driven by a sense of adventure. As this bravery could also have negative associations with pirates, the overall image of the label graphic with identity & seal was carefully crafted along the lines of a vintage parchment scroll, reinforcing the focused and legitimate nature of the adventure.