WKD Original Vodka
Encyclopedia
Alcopop
Alcopop is a colloquial term describing certain flavored alcoholic beverages, including:#malt beverages to which various fruit juices or other flavorings have been added...
produced by Beverage Brands. It is sold and heavily marketed in the United Kingdom with the slogan ‘Have you got a WKD side?’ (Have you got a wicked side?), and also in many countries in mainland Europe. AC Nielsen ranked it as the number-one UK ready-to-drink
Alcopop
Alcopop is a colloquial term describing certain flavored alcoholic beverages, including:#malt beverages to which various fruit juices or other flavorings have been added...
brand in 2006.
Product information
All varieties currently contain 4.5% ABVAlcohol by volume
Alcohol by volume is a standard measure of how much alcohol is contained in an alcoholic beverage .The ABV standard is used worldwide....
. This was originally 5.5%, but it was changed to 5% in October 2003 and reduced to 4.5% in May 2009. The drink was first marketed in Scotland under the name ‘Wicked’ and was launched in August 1996. Initially available in 330ml bottles, the bottles were later reduced to 275ml, matching other alcopops. The individual 275ml bottles are sold in pubs, bars, and shops across the UK, with shops also selling multipacks of 4 and 12. The larger 700ml bottles are sold in shops only.
Varieties
- WKD Original Vodka Iron Brew ("WKD Orange")
- Orange coloured, Irn-BruIrn-BruIrn-Bru is a carbonated soft drink produced in Westfield, Cumbernauld, Scotland. It is made by A.G. Barr of Glasgow since moving out of their original Parkhead factory in the mid-1990s and at a second manufacturing site in Mansfield, England...
flavour.- WKD Original Vodka Blue ("WKD Blue", "WKD Original")
- Blue coloured, mixed fruit flavour.
- WKD Original Vodka Red ("WKD Red")
- Red coloured, cherry flavour.
- WKD Core
- Cider-based drink, apple flavoured, green colour. Introduced 2009.
- WKD Purple (Limited Edition)
- A Mixed Berry flavour drink, purple colour. Available from March 2011 to September 2011
Defunct varieties
- WKD Original Vodka Silver
- Clear coloured, tropical flavour ("WKD Silver") No longer sold.
- WKD Blonde
- Yellow coloured, apple flavoured - but not cider based.
Advertising
WKD Vodka has been heavily promoted in the UK. Promotion includes a TV advertising campaign, a national poster campaign, scoreboard sponsorship at PremiershipFA Premier League
The Premier League is an English professional league for association football clubs. At the top of the English football league system, it is the country's primary football competition. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with The Football League. The Premier...
football clubs, giving out samples in bars and clubs, sponsorship, and student tours. Their catchphrase "Have you got a WKD side?" was launched in 2000 and hit TV screens in 2001. The TV adverts feature men pulling pranks or behaving in a strange or selfish manner for the beverage.
Along with several other alcopop or RTD producers, WKD have been accused by the UK ASA
Advertising Standards Authority (United Kingdom)
The Advertising Standards Authority is the self-regulatory organisation of the advertising industry in the United Kingdom. The ASA is a non-statutory organisation and so cannot interpret or enforce legislation. However, its code of advertising practice broadly reflects legislation in many instances...
of using advertising which was likely to appeal to under-18s, resulting in some of their TV adverts being banned.
Sponsorship
WKD was a sponsor of the "WKD Shed Sports Show" which aired on Nuts TVNuts TV
Nuts TV was a British television channel related to Nuts magazine. Nuts TV began broadcasting on Freeview channel 42 on 12 September 2007, and launched on Sky Digital on 21 January 2008....
, which had its own channel on Freeview and Sky
Sky Digital (UK & Ireland)
Sky is the brand name for British Sky Broadcasting's digital satellite television and radio service, transmitted from SES Astra satellites located at 28.2° east and Eutelsat's Eurobird 1 satellite at 28.5°E. The service was originally launched as Sky Digital, distinguishing it from the original...
but closed on 15 January 2009.
WKD has been a sponsor of the "WKD Nuts Football Awards" since this annual event began in 2006.