🌞 It’s a hot summer day, today. I’ve got a pink gin & tonic with ice, and all I can think about is Ryan Reynolds. Yes, “Deadpool” himself — and how he turned an obscure Portland gin into a global phenomenon.
👉 It’s not just a lesson in branding, it’s a lesson in courage, humor, and storytelling.
1. Where the journey began
In 2006, two guys from Portland, Oregon — bartender Ryan Magarian and distiller Christian Krogstad — launched a floral gin called “Aviation,” named after the classic cocktail from the ‘20s. Nice, local, but running idle, selling fewer than 100,000 cases a year and barely appearing on retailers’ radar.
2016 brings the first pit stop: New York distributor Davos Brands buys the label, gives the bottle an Art Deco refresh, and tries to make it “premium.” The result? As memorable as a press release — notable, but not remarkable.
2. Enter Deadpool with a shaker
February 2018. Ryan Reynolds sips a Negroni, hears “angels strumming ukuleles,” and signs on for a majority stake in Aviation. He becomes the unofficial “Chief Creative Officer” — the guy with the final say on any ad filmed with a phone.
First spot, “The Process” — a 90-second pseudo-documentary where lemons get a “fresh squeeze of the actor-owner’s tears” — drops on YouTube and racks up 4 million views before most brands can open their “draft_v5_final_FINAL.” Watch the clip.
3. The humor that “distills” attention
- Self-irony with blockbuster flair. Reynolds pokes fun at himself (“I have so much skin in the game I sell it by the square meter”) and pulls the brand out of the snooty British gin zone.
- Meta-cultural moments. When Peloton was crucified online for its “trapped wife” ad, Reynolds responded within 72h with “The Gift That Doesn’t Give Back” — same actress, same living room, but with gin instead of a treadmill.
- Cameo collaborations. “Truce” with Hugh Jackman (Wolverine) turns a fictional beef into a double-reach campaign for both gin and coffee.
Result? 13 billion media impressions and an earned CPM estimated under $0.10 — making it the cheapest expensive ad in the world.
4. Fastvertising by Maximum Effort — when agency and client are one
Adweek called the process “fastvertising”: brief, write, film, post — all in 48–72h, with no long legal review.
- Small core team: <20 people.
- Average production cost: $25–50K.
- Philosophy: “If you’re not laughing within the first hour, cut the scene.”
Reactions timed for the zeitgeist — from a Jeopardy host (LeVar Burton) to a Halloween spot with Tony O’Groni (a scarecrow Negroni Week mascot) — kept Aviation constantly in the cultural feed.
5. Transatlantic humor: when Branson spills tea in gin
Sir Richard Branson and Ryan Reynolds play verbal ping‑pong in “Taking Off Together” — the British lord bored with his own palace and the Canadian comedian pulling no punches. The result? Aviation becomes the official gin on Virgin Atlantic and Virgin Voyages, making its way into mini‑bottles on every flight, with Twitter lighting up over UK‑vs‑US banter.
6. From joke to cash giraffe
2017: ~90,000 cases sold | 2020: >200,000 | 2024 (estimate): ~1 million
Brand value: $610M (Diageo deal) + $144M contingent “earn‑out.”
Did Reynolds sell the brand? Partly. He kept its heart and creativity and is still there, approving spots and laughing all the way to the bank. As he puts it, “That’s worth more than any dividend.”
7. What Ryan Reynolds & Aviation teach us:
- Owner‑storyteller > paid influencer
- Pop culture is fuel, not decoration
- Humor lowers the barrier to trial and deepens loyalty
- Strategic alliances multiply reach and relevance
- ROI = Laughter Over Investment
8. Final sip and a toast
“Aviation didn’t reinvent gin — it gave you a reason to laugh when ordering it. And in a world where attention is worth more than brown sugar, a good punchline is the cheapest airport tax you’ll ever pay.”
Must‑Watch Playlist:
- The Process — the anatomy of a gin + Reynolds’ tears
- The Gift That Doesn’t Give Back — the Peloton parody
- Taking Off Together — the Virgin Atlantic collab
- Truce — the Hugh Jackman feud
- Tony O’Groni — Negroni Week 2024
Watch them. Count how long until you hit “share.” That’s the KPI you can take to your next interview.
Cheers and safe flights!
