Casamigos-Owner Diageo Launches ‘Digital Concepts’ Lab; A Look Inside the Neon-Soaked Future of Alcohol Metaverse Ads

(Photo: Bottle & Baptiste)

Diageo — the British spirits giant behind Casamigos, Don Julio, Johnnie Walker and more — is bringing its spirits to the metaverse.

The brand’s new partnership lab, dubbed “Fusion by Diageo,” is looking to hire tech start-ups that can create virtual experiences and AI-powered tools oriented around the company’s massive alcohol catalog.

The 13-week program will take on a Silicon Valley-esque tilt complete with demo days, build stages and guest speakers.

“Diageo is particularly excited about the potential to harness the latest technology to create highly individualized experiences for the home; whether using AI to hand-pick product recommendations, or the latest VR and AR technology to transform a living room into a 20,000-person music arena where everyone has a front row seat,” explained the company in a press release.

So what, you might ask, might a virtual Don Julio experience actually look like?

Entrance to the Jose Cuervo “Metadistillery.” (Photo: LS N Global)

Within the tequila industry, metaverse experiences have already taken off like pixelated wildfire. Pop-ups like the Patron Summer Metaverse Quest and Jose Cuervo Metadisillery offer users the chance to play games in exchange for virtual merch and cocktail NFTs. Elsewhere, Tequila San Matias recently planted “the first agave field in the metaverse,” an endless 2D landscape in which users can harvest agave NFTs backed by the Ethereum blockchain.

Alcohol companies have also become early adopters of the now-omnipresent AI trend.

In September, Columbian-based rum producer Dictador announced the hiring of an AI robot — named Mika — as its CEO. According to the brand, Mika will serve as a board member while overseeing its NFT program for investment-grade bottles and casks.

Expectedly, liquor store shelves have also been hit with a wave of AI-generated beers and pre-mixed cocktails. AB InBev’s Beck’s Autonomous, for instance, features a recipe, packaging and marketing generated entirely by ChatGPT and Midjourney.

All of this is to say that Diageo’s new digital concepts venture could produce virtually anything. Whether or not it poses an existential threat to the future of humanity… that’s yet to be seen.

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