Bulleit ad
The CODE-X series catalogs a vast codex of source codes (aka “signs”) extracted from past audits.
The object of study in semiotics is not the signs but rather a general theory of signification; the goal of each “audit” is to build a model demonstrating how meaning is produced and received within a category or cultural territory. Signs on their own, therefore, only become truly revelatory and useful once we’ve sorted them into thematic complexes, and the complexes into codes, and the codes into a meaning map. We call this process “thick description”; the Code-X series is thin description.
“NO BULL” NORM: A bracing antidote to the reverential, sentimental, even pious tonality of much Brown Spirits communications. We are encouraged to think for ourselves, not to follow tradition blindly.
“NO BULL” FORMS: Skeptical tonality — suggesting that the category is full of hot air, and pretentiousness. “It isn’t news. It just never gets old” (Maker’s Mark). “Williams was down to earth, willing to get his hands dirty” (Evan Williams). “All the shiny things began to blind us,” “The most efficient way became the right way” (Bulleit). “We give it to you straight” (Old Grand-Dad). Ordinary looking consumers — not flashy. Regular bars and pubs, not nightclubs. Feet up on the table. Objects with classic simple design, perhaps going out of fashion. Outdoor, natural settings — backyards, streets.