Smirnoff teams with David LaChapelle for Midnight Circus

Diageo has teamed up with artist David LaChapelle for its new marketing campaign Smirnoff Midnight Circus, a global tour to celebrate 'nightlife experiences' in more than 25 cities.

The London-headquartered drinks group, which increased its marketing expenditure on Smirnoff by 10% during the year ending June 30 2012, described the tour as “a celebration of the newest, most extraordinary spectacles in nightlife” and said the events would include “DJs, performers and mixologists”.

Artist and photographer David LaChapelle has been signed up to create an “interactive art installation” that will be unveiled at “premiere events” in Mexico City and Bangkok on September 7 and 15, respectively.

According to Diageo, his piece will “inspire” a series of “innovative experiences” taking place around the world over the next six months.

LaChapelle said: “I was drawn to the creative possibilities in bringing this project to life, and Smirnoff’s wish for me to not hold back in doing so.  

“The installation embodies a modern futurism of today's nightlife culture with innovative body art and ornamentation.”

Michelle Klein, vice president of global marketing at Smirnoff, said: “We’re launching this global effort to not only provide fans with unexpected experiences, but also encourage them to find inspiration by trying something new.”

The campaign follows Smirnoff’s Nightlife Exchange Project, which took place in 50 countries in collaboration with Live Nation and Madonna.

The announcement follows the news last week that Smirnoff sales increased 5% in volume and 6% in value in the year ending June 30 2012.

The return to significant growth was driven, said Diageo, by “a marked acceleration in developed markets and double-digit growth in Africa and Latin America”.