Project Overview

The Macallan was selected as a test case to explore the intersection of premium brand storytelling with the emergence of AI creative tools. Known as a brand that embodies sophistication, elegance, and heritage, The Macallan holds a strong position in the luxury spirits market. While this elegance lends itself well to traditional media, its social media channels (particularly on Instagram) leans heavily into high-production, cinematic visuals that, while captivating and beautiful, often feel more akin to broadcast cut-downs than social-first storytelling.

The goal is to reimagine The Macallan’s content strategy and approach through the lens of recurring, relatable narratives tailored primarily for Instagram. The aim is to preserve the brand’s premium and refined aesthetic while simultaneously introducing a more dynamic and audience-engaging layer to their storytelling. By leveraging AI generated creative assets, we can experiment with ways to streamline content production, expand creative possibilities, and enhance brand resonance.

This case study documents the process: from identifying opportunities for brand development and evolution, to conceptualizing repeatable and modular social series, to developing creative concepts that balance The Macallan’s luxury identity with a more approachable and modern strategy.

Author’s Note: As of this writing, The Macallan does not have an official TikTok channel. While their Facebook channel has approximately 1.2 million followers, their Instagram is sits at 660K followers and presents what was determined to be the greatest opportunity for growth.

Strategic Approach

The primary opportunity identified was creating repeatable content series that balance The Macallan’s heritage with social-native engagement. The concepts to be explored were:

Reinforce The Macallan’s sophistication, elegance, and aesthetic.
Tell compelling stories in short-form formats
Craft a new visual aesthetic and narrative that more aligns with trends in Gen Z content.
Post repeatably and in a set cadence to build audience familiarity and recognition.

1. Gesture-Focused Lifestyle Photography

Concept: Series of candid photos that focus on hand and facial gestures holding a glass of The Macallan, with imagery intentionally being cropped in ways to only hint at the full picture and action being played out. These albums will have high-grain texture, high flash and moody lighting, and an editorial style with subtle visual anchors (such as the color red, the same crystal tumbler, or an expression) that evoke an authentic and intimate feeling.

Purpose: To build aspirational content that reinforces the premium brand identity; build an aura of exclusivity and being part of “the in-crowd.” Leans into the emerging trend of celebrities and influencers popular with Gen Z and younger that capture a luxury experience and lifestyle through an authentic, unfiltered, and often gritty lens.

References: Dua Lipa, Hailey Bieber, Anya Taylor-Joy, Tom Holland

Girls Night Out…

Guys Night Out…

2. Story of Flavor Series

Concept: A recurring, narrative template where the bottle and its flavors tell a story and take the consumer on a journey, where the cultures, geography, and ingredients stand out. Pour transitions into an energetic and highly cinematic montage, the bottle book-ending the story at the close. Each montage tells a different micro-story (celebration of over 200 years of distilling, reflecting on where the notes and flavors come from, or the artistry of crafting the perfect spirit) while the consistent beginning-to-end structure creates brand and pattern recognition. Focus on the aroma, palate, and finish of The Macallan and the associated or accompanied moods that often coincide. The hint of desert as one tastes notes of vanilla following dinner. The warm bite of smoke to compliment the drinker as they recline next to a fireplace. The umami flavor of raisins to top one’s appetite off with a sense of fullness. The small rush of energy from the sweetness of the creamy toffee notes. All of these flavors and experiences tie into the fulfilling lifestyle that The Macallan embodies.

Purpose: To deliver dynamic storytelling that keeps followers engaged and captivated with the brand’s versatility in design, flavor, and cultural reach, as well as subtly educate the viewer on the various aromas, notes, and finish of the batch.

*A collection of AI generated editorial images curated to reflect the emerging photography trends in major Gen Z celebrities and influencers (See Section 1 References for details).*

The Necessity for a Gen Z Strategy

A recent Gallup poll indicated that the U.S. alcohol consumption rates have hit a new low, as Americans self-reported drinking is down to 54%. This combined with a rise in belief that even moderate drinking is bad for health present new challenges for the alcohol industry as a whole. With young adults, especially within Gen Z, are dramatically reducing if not outright eliminating alcohol consumption, it is now more important than ever that legacy spirit brands adapt their messaging and marketing strategies to a contracting audience.

For more information, see Gallup’s study results here.

Key Learnings: The Macallan and Midjourney

Published August 2025

Accuracy & Media Fidelity - While AI is very good at creating moody imagery and evoking certain vibes, there is a large degree of opportunity for these tools to improve upon specifics. Atmosphere and style were fairly easy to replicate or create from scratch, however despite having numerous prompts and product reference images, it struggles to maintain product fidelity. As of this writing, AI generated creative will still require human intervention prior to publication.
Consistency & Control - While lighting for individual images can create potent and evocative scenes, maintaining consistent lighting as well as the materials captured (i.e. clothing, glassware, face / facial features) was difficult to establish and control. Maintaining a single or series of characters is not reliable, even if the prompt consistently has the same reference image. While AI imagery can inspire truly incredible images, they will require heavy curation and editing to maintain any semblance of brand consistency and accuracy.
Prompting & Creative Process - Prompt details are incredibly important and helpful, but only to a point. Being descriptive with lighting on the front end of the prompt (i.e. “high flash, front lit, bright shadows”) can push the image in the desired direction, however it often will lose track or fail to incorporate numerous prompt details related to a single aspect of composition. Success lies less with telling Midjourney exactly what to create in extensive detail and more on curation of images and refining outputs through repeated rounds of generation.
Value & Use Cases - Ultimately, as of this writing, image and video generation from platforms like Midjourney are incredible supplementary tools, but they cannot stand alone. In order to prompt efficiently, the writer must already have strong knowledge of photography / videography and be capable of speaking to it in a clear, concise manor. While every so often an AI-created image might be nearly indistinguishable from reality, it will inevitably need additional creative support to adhere to brand standards.

Final Thoughts

While generative AI is being developed at incredible speeds, as of this writing, the real power of AI lies in the ability to inspire humans to take the creative one step further. The human element is still just as valuable as it was prior to the creation of tools like Midjourney and will continue to be so for the foreseeable future.