Downton Abbey Star Michelle Dockery Is The New Face Of Glenfiddich

Iconic Scotch whisky brand Glenfiddich has launched a new advertising campaign featuring a photo shoot with Downton Abbey star Michelle Dockery, celebrating Glenfiddich’s ‘maverick’ spirit. The photos and videos that form the campaign show Dockery classily lounging in London’s award-winning Lyaness bar, accompanied by a bottle of Glenfiddich Grand Cru and a Rob Roy cocktail.  

Best known for her role as Lady Mary in Downton Abbey and as the female lead in Guy Ritchie’s most recent film The Gentleman, Dockery’s presence is intended to promote diversity in the consumption of whisky. The official press release states ‘the vision was to progress the perception of whisky to new audiences, breaking the mold to encourage greater gender inclusivity in the industry.’

A cynic might be dismissive of this ‘mold-breaking’, given that a white woman has been brought in as a representative to promote diversity, and a whisky purist may also scoff at seeing a cocktail featuring a high end single malt whisky rather than enjoyed neat.

In fairness to Glenfiddich though, what may seem like a typical slick-but-bland ad campaign actually covers some new ground.

For the most part, past ad campaigns for Scotch whisky featuring famous actresses have actually not aged too well over the years, given that their involvement was specifically to use their sex appeal to market Scotch to men. Whether it’s Christina Hendricks in 2012 giving seductive looks for Johnnie Walker, or Claire Forlani’s horrendous Scottish accent that was part of a larger PR disaster from Dewar’s, seeing Dockery simply look stylish and confident without having to give any ‘come hither’ looks or wear ‘sexy’ clothing is genuinely refreshing. This is a campaign targeted at everyone.

It says something about the current state of the industry that featuring a woman drinking whisky on her own terms is indeed quite unusual on whisky advertising and actually qualifies as ‘mold-breaking’.

That’s part of the reason that she told me she was happy to take part in the first place:

‘Something that drew me to this project is to encourage greater inclusivity. It’s important now, more than ever, to challenge perceptions and encourage change. Whisky simply shouldn’t be off-limits to women, so this felt right. It was a piece of positive change that I was happy to be a part of.’

She told me she was also excited to work with Misan Harriman, the Nigerian-born British photographer behind this particular shoot. In addition to being the first black man to shoot a cover of British Vogue in 104 years, Harriman has also taken some of the most iconic photos of the Black Lives Matter movement.

‘He really is the photographer of the moment, and he’s an extraordinary talent and individual. He understood exactly what Glenfiddich wanted to do with this. It was about portraying confidence and moving away from any stereotypes, and he keeps things really simple.’

It’s notable that Harriman himself also appears in the Glenfiddich promotional videos, working on the shoot and directing Dockery.

As sexism within the whisky industry is increasingly highlighted as a significant issue along with the promotion of diversity for consumers, it’s campaigns like this that are taking easy steps in the right direction. Glenfiddich, Dockery, and Harriman are providing a gentle nudge showing that whisky is truly a drink for everyone, no matter how you might drink it, whether neat or in cocktail form.