Using one of the classic icons of French culture, Wines of France has launched a new microsite, www.francoisthetalkingmime.com, to help demystify French wines as part of a campaign created by Toronto-based GJP Advertising.

‘This viral campaign was a tremendous opportunity for us to take old world wines into the future,’ says Lisa Greenberg, creative director at GJP.

The site features ‘Francois,’ a mime going on three dates that emulate French wine styles: soft & subtle, medium & balanced and big & bold. These dates are presented under the game-show-style banner of Wining, Dining & Miming. The site also includes tasting notes, food pairings and downloadable recipe PDFs.

‘We know wine drinkers love to look up recipes and wine pairings online, and that online video viewing is becoming a massive part of the Canadian lifestyle,’ Joanne Fulford, media director at GJP Advertising tells MiC. ‘To reach wine neophytes, LCBO’s Wines of France needed to ante up the fun factor of a category generally regarded as stodgy and complicated. So GJP took a bold step into the future of marketing with this viral/social media opportunity by empowering them with the knowledge to know which French wines to buy.

Ads on Lavalife and Facebook are being used in addition to with in-store bottle toppers driving consumers to the URL and shelf talkers calling out the 17 featured wines in the French wine section with mime-dressed tasters offering tastings .

The campaign will be running LCBO locations throughout the GTA until Nov. 8.