A whisky made with a celebrity. Not unusual. The campaign built around a board game. Strange…and interesting. Chivas Regal has collaborated with Formula 1 driver, Charles Leclerc, on Chivas Regal 16, a limited-edition blend developed with Leclerc and Chivas regal master blender, Sandy Hyslop. That partnership includes a playable experience built around an original board game called SE!ZE (16 in French).

The campaign idea comes from branded entertainment creative company, Baby Teeth. And the game underlines the whisky’s craft, ritual, social play, and premium presentation.

The blend brings together 16 whiskies, each aged at least 16 years. Note: 16 is Leclerc’s racing number and his birthday. SE!ZE is an original strategy-led board game created with Leclerc and British game designer, James Wallis. The game begins with 16 pieces and was designed to be easy to pick up but difficult to master (perfect to attract curiosity and challenging enough to engage).

The hero film was directed by Tom Hardiman and produced by Somesuch. Supporting content was made with Leclerc’s studio, SideQuest, that contributed behind-the-scenes material tied to the film shoot and the development and testing of the game. The full campaign includes social content, editorial coverage, and live activations across the year.

SE!ZE is a strategy game, aligned with Leclerc’s known strategic smarts. The campaign’s French Riviera setting underlines the whisky’s premium level and European sophistication. The number 16 brings everything together – the whisky, Leclerc and the game. The game’s name, SE!ZE, is heard as “seize”, aligning the product with the target market, “ambitious”. The campaign idea takes sports sponsorship into a new place that stands out, encouraging both Leclerc fans and whisky fans to engage with it – whisky culture and fan culture unite. The campaign promotes a shared mindset anchored in always pushing forward and mastering anything new to the highest level.