Diageo has released the latest US marketing move for Ketel One from its tie-up with Patrick Schwarzenegger.
The vodka brand, overseen by Diageo through a joint venture with its owner, the Nolet family, has been tied more closely to the martini serve in an advert fronted by the actor. Centred around the spot (below), in which Schwarzenegger visits the Nolet’s distillery in the Netherlands, the latest activation from Ketel One’s ‘Made to Cocktail’ campaign will run on linear TV, streaming and digital & social media platforms in the country.
A second ad concentrates on the different types of martini serve and encourages the use of the brand’s name in the cocktail’s bar call.
“While the martini is timeless, it’s undeniably having a moment, with dollar sales in bars and restaurants up 29% in the last quarter of 2025 alone, according to NielsenIQ‘s ‘BeverageTrak Cocktail Report’,” said Diageo’s brand director for Ketel One, Jessica Rawlins. “Today, how you order your martini has become a statement in itself, and this campaign celebrates that the Ketel One call gives drinkers confidence that their order is in good taste.”
Schwarzenegger first teamed up with Ketel One through a two-brand tie-up secured last year by Diageo – also including gin mark Tanqueray – for the most recent season of TV drama The White Lotus, in which he appeared.
Diageo identified a growth opportunity for vodka stablemate Smirnoff in September, debuting a ‘mid-strength’ extension of the brand – at 20% ABV – in the UK’s off-premise channel.
