To the victors to the spoils. Matthew McConaughey, the amiable actor who made a daring escape from high-paying rom-com hell to win an Academy Award for Best Actor in Dallas Buyers Club, intends to push his winning status as far as he can. After a series of spooky, mercurial, oddball ads for the Lincoln car brand, McConaughey has moved his advertising profile from talent to creative. As the actors’ cliche dictates, McConaughey really wants to direct. In advertising that means Creative Director.
So McConaughey saw yet more of his wishes come true this week, as the esteemed bourbon brand Wild Turkey named him the brand’s creative director. Wild Turkey says McConaughey will “serve as the chief storyteller for Wild Turkey both behind the camera and in front of it, reintroducing the world to the legendary bourbon brand.” Unlike other celebrities whose endorsements pay off as a social media numbers game (e.g. Selena Gomez and her 44.6 Million Twitter followers), McConaughey brings just 2.16 million Twitter followers. But the actor delivers a style and aesthetic that works with the Wild Turkey brand. Sitting right in between those poles is Mila Kunis, who doesn’t do the social media thing at all, but who still pitches bourbon brand Jim Beam. (See below.)
