Idris Elba

When an invitation came in a few weeks ago to attend “an intimate evening with Idris Elba” I did pretty much say yes instantly. The evening took place last week. And while it wasn’t as “intimate” as many of those attending might have liked it to be, it was certainly a fun night.

The dinner took place downstairs at Bob Bob Ricard in Soho and was thrown to celebrate the restaurant’s “exciting new collaboration with Porte Noire” – the restaurant and wine bar co-owned by Elba. Pies were served with Porte Noire cognac and followed by dancing into the early hours.

The star of the show, of course, was Mr Elba himself, who exuded the kind of charisma you expect from a movie star. And boy was he tall. The “Press for Champagne’ buttons that are a signature at Bob Bob Ricard had been modified to read “Press for Idris.” When you pressed one, it wasn’t him but a waiter with his champagne that turned up. As consolation prizes go, a top-up of bubbly wasn’t too shabby.

These days celebrity drink brands are two a penny. HTSI has done features on a few of the more high-end examples – including cover stories on Emma Watson’s gin brand Renais and Sting and Trudie Styler’s Il Pallagio estate wines. Incidentally, my resulting Sting and Trudie story was one of the most-read HTSI stories of recent years. If you’re launching a celebrity drink brand at the top end of the market, we may be interested in covering it exclusively.

Of course not every drink brand comes with a celebrity attached. In a competitive media and retail landscape where brand loyalty isn’t what it used to be, how do non-celebrity drink brands stand out? For me it’s about having a sharply conceived product and interesting collaborations that keep the brand relevant; it’s also about getting the owners of those brands in front of journalists.

I see those things in spades in two of my favourite brands – Botivo (the non-alcoholic aperitif which recently partnered with Ottolenghi) and Bold Bean Co (whose messaging about British heritage beans and collaborations with chefs and cooks have been second to none). Talk to the owners of these brands and you feel their excitement. Not everyone can be Idris Elba. But so many people in food and drink have passion. The job of any PR is to get journalists in front of them so they feel it too.