Maker’s Mark has teamed up with Hulu to showcase its bourbon through a collection of ad vignettes, each focused on crafting a gourmet, whiskey-based cocktail inspired by a show in the streaming service’s roster.
The Kentucky distillery’s new “Mixing with Babish” ads fittingly star YouTube personality Andrew Rea, who first rose to prominence with “Binging with Babish,” a DIY cooking show where he recreates famous dishes from TV and movies.
Since posting his first video in 2016, he’s cooked up everything from “Game of Thrones’” blood pie and Krabby Patties to sheets of blue candy, à la “Breaking Bad”—and going viral to the tune of nearly 8 million subscribers in the process.
Working with Rea “felt like such a great collaboration opportunity,” says Brittney Duncan, media director for Beam Suntory, which owns the Maker’s Mark brand.
The nine-part vignette series, in which each clip runs between 60 and 90 seconds, was the brainchild of Starcom US and produced by digital entertainment company Made In Network, and will tie into both Hulu’s original programming and library shows.
The first installment of “Mixing with Babish” aired on Wednesday and featured a Bloody Mary that swaps the drink’s standard vodka component for Maker’s’ bourbon; “The Melting Pot,” as Rea dubs it, is rooted in “Taste the Nation,” a new Hulu original hosted by Padma Lakshmi that explores American food culture.