What Small Businesses Can Learn from Aviation Gin's Marketing

Most small businesses will never have a movie star as their spokesperson. But the most useful lesson from Aviation American Gin has nothing to do with celebrity. It’s about personality, speed, and being willing to sound like a person instead of a brand.

What happened

Ryan Reynolds became a co-owner of Aviation Gin in 2018 and ran its marketing through his own production company, Maximum Effort. Instead of glossy liquor ads, the brand leaned into self-aware humor that sounded like Reynolds himself.

The best-known example came in December 2019. Peloton released a holiday ad that drew widespread backlash online. Within days, Reynolds’s team hired the actress from that ad, shot a short spot for under $100,000, and released it the same day. In it, she sits at a bar with friends, looking a little shell-shocked, while they toast to “new beginnings.” It went viral almost instantly.

In 2020, Diageo agreed to buy Aviation Gin in a deal worth up to $610 million.

Why it worked

It sounded human. The ads didn’t read like a corporation selling gin. They read like a person with a sense of humor, which made people want to share them.

It was fast. The Peloton response worked because it arrived while everyone was still talking about the original. A polished ad two months later would have missed the moment entirely.

It was consistent. One ad isn’t a strategy. Aviation kept the same voice across every campaign, so people knew what to expect and started looking for the next one.

What you can borrow

You don’t need a celebrity to apply this. Your personality and your voice are already assets your bigger competitors can’t copy. A local bakery, a bookkeeper, or an author can all build a recognizable voice: warm, funny, direct, whatever is true to you.

Speed is also on your side. You don’t have a legal department or a six-week approval process. When something relevant happens in your industry or your town, you can respond the same day.

Listen before you post. Aviation's team simply searches social media for what people are saying about them, even when the brand isn't tagged. You can do the same in ten minutes a week: search your business name, your product, and your town.

You don't need a celebrity, just the right voice.. A local personality, a loyal customer, or a respected person in your niche with a small, engaged following can lend credibility the way a famous face does, at a fraction of the cost.

Stand for something. During the pandemic, Aviation pledged 30% of online sales to support out-of-work bartenders. A small business can do the same on a local scale: a cause you genuinely care about, or a community event you show up for.

What doesn’t translate

Be honest about the parts you can’t copy. Aviation had a famous face, a professional production company, and an audience in the millions. Humor that’s built on a celebrity’s existing reputation won’t land the same way for an unknown brand. And humor only works if it fits who you are. Forced jokes do more harm than no jokes.

The takeaway isn’t “be funny.” It’s be recognizably yourself, every time.

Try this this week

Write down three words that describe how you talk to your best customers. Then reread your last five social posts or emails. Do they sound like those three words? If not, rewrite one in your real voice and post it.

Further reading: Aviation American Gin: Using Humor to Lift Spirits, Digital Marketing Institute.

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About Meganne

 I write about how I see marketing and what it means for local service businesses, professional service firms, and authors without a full marketing department. Each post shares practical ideas, real stories, and tips you can apply right away.