Refining the ballot

On 23 June 2016, Great Britain voted to leave the European Union. The news came as a shock to the population at large, with pollsters and pundits predicting until the very last minute that the Remain camp would prevail.

Yet the Leave vote, headed by former Mayor of London Boris Johnson, won with 17.4mn votes, compared to the 16.1mn achieved by Remain. One of the highest voter turnouts ever was recorded, Leave voters rejoiced, and a new prime minister was elected in the weeks that followed.

And Britain was divided, by one of the closest-called election results in recent history.

In true British spirit, global design and branding agency, Hornall Anderson, chose to turn the national divide into a celebration. Responding to a creative challenge set by leading FMCG trade magazine, The Grocer, the design agency decided to use Brexit as its inspiration.

Hornall Anderson used recent events as its inspiration to create a wine brand fit for inclusion in The Grocer’s 2016 Wine List. Although tongue-in-cheek, the very real statistics of the June referendum provided inspiration for the agency’s creative response.

52:48, so named for the 52%/48% split outcome of the EU Referendum, has been dubbed Brexit Cuvée. Everything about the wine and packaging is designed to reflect its origins – from 52:48’s elegant, ballot-box themed packaging, to the sweet and sour grape blend which lends the wine its distinct flavour.

Given the growing popularity of British-produced wine, and the increasing number of vineyards around Kent and the South East, it also presented the perfect opportunity for Hornall Anderson to lend British-made wine its own, unique, identity. With prosecco sales on the rise and around 60% of UK adults choosing wine as their alcoholic drink of choice, market cut-through for wine-producing regions is challenging. This is particularly true for the British wine market, which has only recently gained significant popularity.

According to the gold-embossed writing adorning its box, Brexit Cuvée was “Exclusively picked for a lively but accomplished taste, with a delicate and bittersweet finish.”

Design director at Hornall Anderson, Jon Dignam, says, “Wine production has such a rich history, so we decided to use some British history in our packaging design for English wine. And Brexit seemed like a great fit. The country was so divided after the results were announced, but now that the dust has started to settle, we saw an opportunity to create something good out of it.”

Given the ‘armchair politician’ nature of the Brexit debate, 52:48 might, according to Dignam, be the perfect accompaniment to a lively yet well-meaning discussion about the relative economic significance of the Leave vote.

Speaking to The Grocer, Dignam says, “There could be different entrances on the side which people would use depending on which way they voted, you’d go in have a debate but at the end shake hands and share a nice glass of wine with each other.”

Hornall Anderson and The Grocer hope 52:48 will ‘tick all the boxes’, rather than just the one.