The Pitch

Fernet-Branca is an iconic brand with a cult following but is actively searching for a new agency partner to help modernize how it shows up in culture. With a history of past work together, we saw an opportunity to build on that foundation while offering fresh thinking that could move the brand forward.

Most drinkers gravitate toward safe, familiar, and forgettable options. Fernet-Branca is not that. Its flavor profile is divisive and polarizing, and that is the point. The very fact that some people dislike it makes it more memorable for those who love it. That memorability is not a weakness, it is a superpower.

We positioned Fernet-Branca as the opposite of safe: provocative, unapologetic, and unforgettable. The creative direction centered on a flexible visual system with bold lines like “Order Fernet, you coward” and “Buy something that bites back”. Adaptable across on-premise, retail, trade, and digital, the system gave the brand a consistent but endlessly remixable way to show up in the world.

The work is intentionally raw, divisive, and memorable, just like the product itself. It gives Fernet-Branca a cultural stance and a creative toolkit it can own across markets and moments. While the long-term partnership is still to be determined, we created a strategic and visual foundation we are proud of and one that sets the brand up for bold, future-facing work.