The new face of Jim Beam, the iconic bourbon brand, might not be quite what you expect. While a rough-around-the-edges cowboy or country rock star might seem to fit the bill—Jim Beam has used Kid Rock at times in the past—its newest spokesperson is the petite and beautiful Mila Kunis.
The 30-year-old actress, who says she is a big fan of bourbon in general, is featured in two new 30-second Beam ads, as well as five other videos ranging in length from 15 seconds to more than three minutes.
The first commercial features a series of quasi-historical events (the transition to the '60s is a little visually jarring), and in the second, Kunis is seen branding her own barrel of bourbon. She narrates, and smolders, in both. The tagline for the new global campaign is, "Make history."
The supporting videos are pretty fun. Save for "Mila Kunis & Hibernation," which feels a little bit too much like a production of a scene in Indiana Jones, the other shorts are funny and quirky and a little less serious than the two main spots. And if you find yourself feeling the need to whisper "Shut up, Meg," it's because Kunis—no stranger to voiceover work—has been the voice of Meg Griffin on Family Guy for the past 14 years.
Nice move on Jim Beam's part in an attempt to appeal to millennials. The campaign is by FutureWorks, a new entity comprised of three regional Beam creative agencies—StrawberryFrog in New York, The Works in Sydney, Australia, and Jung von Matt, Hamburg, Germany.