Rum has long been associated with all things pirates and when Swig was approached by Kilohana Rum to handle their branding, they knew right away what direction they didn’t want to go. Rum takes many of us back to our college days, the years of pirate rum, red solo cups and not really caring about the image of the liquor you’re drinking. Kilohana cares and their branding is more about holiday vacations at the beach and the care-free, laid-back lifestyle of surf culture. It’s a departure from much of what rum branding has become and that’s the point. With an upscale product comes upscale branding and at the heart of Kilohana’s image is a message that things are different with this bottle of rum. All of the imagery of Kilohana is consistent with Hawaiian culture, appropriate for a Hawaii brand. The branding is clean and has a vintage feel and there are no cartoon pirates or planks anywhere to be found.
