Keeping it in the Family with E&J Brandy

 E&J Brandy was my agency’s first brand under the E&J Gallo Winery portfolio, and one I’ve worked on throughout my entire tenure there. This legacy brand is America’s Most Popular Brandy, recently celebrating 50 years. It’s also an urban cultural juggernaut, consistently referenced in hip hop music, movies, fashion campaigns, and media throughout the decades.

Collaborations and partnerships are integral to the brand’s DNA. Throughout my five years as lead writer and ACD on E&J, I’ve been honored to interview notable people, collab with incredible brands, concept with impressive creatives, and help bring the E&J Family to life. Here’s a look at some of my favorite campaigns.

E&J Spiced: A Spice Adams Holiday

We partnered with NFL legend and comedian Spice Adams for multiple years of holiday activations, from an Egg Nog-forward program that saw him creating multiple characters to a “Spice’s Black-Owned Gift Shop” campaign in which we put dozens of prizes from Black-owned businesses up for grabs.

My team and I worked with Spice on streamlining scripts, brainstorming angles, and a posting strategy. I was responsible for social, email, POS, and website copy for the programs — both of which netted us out with major impressions, hundreds of sweeps entries, more email signups, and new followers.

The Karl Kani Mentorship Program x Capsule Collection

Another multiyear partnership for E&J was with the Godfather of Urban Streetwear, Karl Kani. This celebrated designer worked with the brand on a capsule collection; a redesigned E&J XO label; and a co-sponsored mentorship program in which one lucky entrepreneur would win a trip to Kani’s LA studio, a branding photoshoot, and mentorship from Kani himself.

As lead copywriter, I helped the team select the winner, created all social/web/email assets, and saw the campaign to completion two years in a row. The 2023 campaign itself netted over 33K sweepstakes entries, 587 E&J loyalty program signups, and 24 unique mentorship program entries.

Website Assets

Email & Microsite Assets

Opal Lee, the Grandmother of Juneteenth

E&J celebrated Juneteenth with a once-in-a-lifetime interview with Opal Lee, the Grandmother of Juneteenth. Ms. Lee—the Texas-born educator and activist who famously marched on foot to Washington D.C. to lobby for Juneteenth’s federal holiday status — gave an engaging, empathetic account of her life that I turned into a reverse chronology blog for ejbrandy.com. You can read the story here.

Celebrate the Hustle: The Basketball Tournament on ESPN ft. HBCUnited

For multiple years, E&J sponsored The Basketball Tournament on ESPN. Our inaugural campaign, ‘Celebrate the Hustle’ went live with social posts, in-stadium LEDs and PA reads, and a spot on ESPN during the TBT broadcast.

In 2023, E&J leveled the partnership up with an official sponsorship of HBCUnited, the only TBT team composed totally of HBCU graduates. We also worked with TBT to launch a paid sports internship for a current or former HBCU graduate, plus partnered with fashion designer Tones of Melanin for a celebratory capsule collection.