Recently awarded some of the highest accolades at the International Wine & Spirits Competition 2018 (Silver Medal for Design and Media, and Silver Outstanding Medal for the gin itself), this quintessentially English libation, with its distinctive essence and unrivalled provenance, Horse Guards London Dry Gin is a historic brand brought back to life for a modern, discerning and global audience.

OceanBarefoot is the award winning agency behind the gin. We created the entirely new brand from the ground up and have generated everything, bar making the gin itself…

OB delivered the brand, packaging, ads and promotional videos, online and social media material – as well as establishing a key partner relationship with the Household Cavalry Museum.

Re-launched in April 2018, we generated instant impact and market penetration through digital channels – see the OB built website here (NOTE – the client’s current live website is not our design or build – we no longer manage the account), through social media (including twitter, instagram and facebook) campaigning and branded sponsored events NOTE – the client’s current live feeds are no longer managed by OB).

distinguished accolades_iwsc 2018

“OceanBarefoot are proud to announce that our brand and bottle design for Horse Guards London Dry Gin has won Silver at the International Wine and Spirit Competition Design and Media Awards 2018, alongside an Outstanding Award for the gin itself.

Our challenge was to design distinctive yet modern, wet and dry packaging that is still grounded in history and reflects as a truly British brand.

We are delighted for our clients at Horse Guards and our entire OB team.

Thank you to the IWSC for acknowledging Horse Guards London Dry Gin bottle design for this award.”

Julian_Atkins, Director Ocean_Barefoot

Horse Guards London Dry Gin has one key objective: to be the best London Dry Gin on the market.

With the number of UK gin brands more than doubling since 2010, and exports of premium UK gin brands growing 37% in the last five years, the challenge was to create a distinct, engaging and premium brand, to match its flavour and botanicals, in an ever-more crowded space.

OceanBarefoot were commissioned to not only create a stand-out brand for a compelling product, but were also tasked with managing the entire product delivery: brand strategy and story, brand identity and positioning, wet and dry packaging design and production, website design and build, video content creative and production as well as all the supporting marketing and communications material, including all digital, print…and flavours!

We immersed ourselves in the heritage of the brand – and with the help of the Household Cavalry Museum, discovered 300 hundred years of history, anecdotes and artefacts about the Horse Guards, their colourful characters, famous alumni and their unquenchable thirst for adventure.

This gave us the unique position for realising the brand’s potential – where it’s come from and where it could go; fitting perfectly with brand’s desire to appeal to an adventurous Millennial audience, as well as a discerning export market – grounded in history and pomp – a very British brand.

“Through the mists of time, our ghostly, spirit-like Horse Guard hero appears, mounted on his great charging steed, backed by a Union flag; the brand identity tells a story of historic derring-do and Royal protection, but positioned for a modern audience, where pure adventure and thrill seeking is second nature.

Our adventure is their adventure.

Horse Guards London Dry Gin is a bold, confident and quintessentially British brand that exudes simplicity and class.

The gin recipe has been perfected, the bottles have been produced and the Horse Guards brand has been unveiled to the world.

We’re proud to be part of this great, illustrious brand. It’s a testament to our passion, precision and professionalism.

And it is our immersive approach to all our work, which has resulted in forming a strong relationship with the Household Cavalry Museum – home to Household Cavalry Regiment of The Life Guards and The Blues & Royals, located at the heart of Horse Guards, Whitehall, London.

We now have a really solid partnership for the brand, future PR and experiential events.