The brief from Remy Martin:

To get the attention of the 24 duty free shop buyers in the UK and so encourage them to stock Clés du Ducs Armagnac. The budget was £10,000.

The concept:

Working with Damian Fanshawe as art director, we sought out other characters who came from Armagnac. People who really existed but have gained a more literary profile over the centuries: D'Artagnan and Cyrano de Bergerac.

The execution:

Three tailormade mailers hand-delivered in a week on Monday, Wednesday and Friday.

The result:

Even though there was no definite link to the Armagnac itself beyond a little logo, the sales director received calls from the buyers asking if it was from Remy Martin on the Thursday before the bottle mailer arrived.

All 24 recipients took a meeting from the sales director as a result of the mailers. When he went to visit the buyers, the hat and nose were much in evidence, with colleagues wanting to know where their hat and nose was. There were photos of the buyer in the hat and nose, their children in the hat and nose etc.

Sales were secured for 18 of them.

Most other brands just sent a traditional A4 direct marketing letter.

The 3 mailers. The boxes measured about 18in square.

Mailer 1: Monday
D’Artagnan’s hat.

Mailer 1 scroll

Mailer 2: Wednesday
Cyrano de Bergerac’s nose.

Mailer 2 scroll
Note there’s still no indication of who the mailers are from

Mailer 3: Friday
A presentation box containing a special edition of the armagnac

Mailer 3 scroll