The archive · Design & Visual · Marketing decision · 2024
Ewan's Cut: 240 film-script-labelled whisky bottles raise £135,000 for CHAS
A 26-year-old cask gifted to Ewan McGregor became 240 auction bottles, each label a newly written mini film script, raising money for children's hospice care.
Arran Whisky · Children's Hospices Across Scotland
What it had to solve
Children's Hospices Across Scotland (CHAS) supports terminally ill children and their families. A cask of 26-year-old single malt had been gifted to actor Ewan McGregor, and Arran Whisky released one 'cut' of 240 bottles to be auctioned for the charity - the task was to raise as much money as possible from that single cask.
How it works
Arran Whisky released a one-off 'cut' of 26-year-old single malt for Children's Hospices Across Scotland (CHAS), the Scottish charity that supports terminally ill children and their families. The cask had been gifted to actor Ewan McGregor, and all 240 bottles it yielded were to be auctioned.
To raise as much money as possible, the team rejected a single edition. Every bottle was made unique - 240 bespoke labels, each featuring a newly penned, original mini film script inspired by Ewan's life and career - so the auction would sell 240 individual objects rather than 240 copies of one release.
The approach worked: Ewan's Cut has so far raised £135,000 for CHAS, and the project is described as the first in a series of unique fundraising whisky auctions. D&AD preserved the work in its Writing for Design archive, crediting Arran Whisky and Children's Hospices Across Scotland.
Why it lands
- One cask holds one story for the distiller, but Ewan McGregor's life and career hold many: 240 scripts give the release far more content than a single label could ever carry.
- Unique labels multiply the auction's surface: instead of one lot description, every bottle becomes its own story for the catalogue, the press and the bidder.
- Mini film scripts fit the donor: each bottle is a miniature piece of Ewan's on-screen life, so fans can bid on the story that means most to them.
- The charity purpose gives every lot meaning beyond the whisky, so collectors and Ewan's fans are simultaneously buying a gift for children's hospice care.
What it did
The one-off bottles raised £135,000 for Children's Hospices Across Scotland, and the project is described as the first in a series of unique fundraising whisky auctions. D&AD preserved the work in its Writing for Design archive.
What you can take
Granular scarcity beats one limited edition: 240 one-of-one bottles give collectors 240 reasons to bid and turn a whisky donation into a collection of stories.
Since then
Ewan's Cut is described as the first in a series of unique fundraising whisky auctions, and has so far raised £135,000 for Children's Hospices Across Scotland. D&AD keeps the work in its awards archive under Writing for Design, with Arran Whisky and CHAS named as brands and clients; the page records no per-bottle prices.
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