Elija Craig Campaign
As legend has it, Elijah Craig was a minister in the late 1700s who brewed white whiskey in his backyard barn. When the barn caught fire, the charred oak barrels transformed the spirit into something entirely new—and Elijah Craig became the Father of Bourbon.
I was contracted to develop the conceptual creative direction for an Elijah Craig ad campaign pitch. Working from a small studio in New York City, I ideated across multiple campaign directions, developing storyboards and copy concepts that brought the brand's origin story to life in a way that felt both historically rooted and visually compelling. In collaboration with photographer partner, select concepts moved into rough production—combining photography, retouching, and finished ad layouts for the client's review.
The pitch was a success. The selected concept—built around the "Father of Bourbon" narrative—was greenlit for full high-quality production to become the brand's next public-facing campaign. The campaign drove measuable results across social and paid media before it was leveraged for in-store print.
Father of Bourbon
He didn't join the Bourbon movement. He started it. This concept leans hard into provocation and legacy, anchoring the narrative in three bold, declarative statements that build on each other with quiet confidence. Visually, a clean monochromatic composition puts the bottle front and center, with the ghost of Elijah Craig cast as a shadow on the wall behind it — always present, never overstated. Lighting moves left to right, drawing the eye across the product with authority. Spare, powerful, and impossible to argue with.
Here's to the Man
The best way to join the Bourbon movement is to get to know the man who started it. This concept brings Elijah Craig to life through a dramatic silhouette — the product and rich textural imagery masked inside his profile, with subtle lifestyle energy implied in the background. Two figures raise glasses in quiet celebration behind the form, giving the composition a sense of reverence and ritual. Recognized, admired, savored — the Father of Bourbon rendered as both legend and invitation, raising a toast to the man who gave the world bourbon.
Good Things Come in Small Batches
Crafting a perfectly balanced Bourbon takes patience, precision, and an unwillingness to cut corners — and this concept makes that philosophy visible. A four-panel split screen divided along the golden ratio gives the composition its structure: the bottle commanding the largest frame, a pour in motion in the second, lifestyle implied in the third, and a detail shot anchoring the fourth. Golden tones throughout tie the layout to the product's warmth and character, while the copy reframes the small batch process as a brand truth — advancing the Bourbon movement one deliberate, uncompromising batch at a time.
The First. The Only.
Elija Craig wasn't the only one to char oak barrels. He was the first. This concept strips the campaign down to its most powerful truth — a single, undeniable fact delivered in stark, confident typography against a clean, minimal composition. The bottle stands tall in warm, directional light, its amber liquid glowing against a neutral background, with a perfectly poured glass anchoring the foreground. No mythology needed, no silhouette required — just the product, the legacy, and a headline that dares anyone to argue with history.
