-By Elaine Wong

As Scotch season kicks into gear, Glenlivet is promoting its “Family Tree” of brands.

Six print ads will run in this month’s issues of Esquire, GQ, Golf Magazine and Playboy. Each ad will spotlight a single member of the Glenlivet family, including newcomer The Glenlivet XXV, which parent company Pernod Ricard introduced last month. Copy reads: “In 1824, we started something that connoisseurs since have delighted in finishing.”
     
The campaign marks a new advertising turn for Pernod Ricard, which has traditionally marketed its brands individually.

Arthur Shapiro, an alcohol industry consultant with AM Shapiro and Associates in New York, said the strategy “provides a halo, a top-of-the-line icon even though there may be less expensive and affordable variations at retail.”

Still, the campaign comes at a time when consumers are cash-strapped. At an estimated price of $200, a bottle of Glenlivet XXV might be a tough sell, said Darrin Lazin, a member of the sales staff at Sherry-Lehmann, a wine and spirits retailer in New York. “It’s a terrible time to be introducing a new thing like that. People aren’t going to buy it. They don’t have as much liquid cash.”
 
The rest of the Glenlivet family should be fine though, he said. “It’s hard to forecast how Scotch will do this year. Sales might be cut back a bit, but on the other hand, you’re getting a good value when you buy a bottle of Scotch. You’re maybe drinking one or two ounces a night, whereas with wine, you get a bottle and share it with your friends for the evening.”

Glenlivet spent $5.2 million on U.S. advertising in 2007 and $1.3 million through July of this year, excluding online, per Nielsen Monitor-Plus.