Sabrina Carpenter Stars in Johnnie Walker Film Directed by Damien Chazelle
Sabrina Carpenter fronts a new Johnnie Walker campaign directed by La La Land filmmaker Damien Chazelle, revealed November 10. The film draws on French New Wave cinema and launches her Go Go Highball serve and a limited-edition Black Label bottle in Europe, Australia and North America.
Sabrina Carpenter stars in a new Johnnie Walker campaign directed by Oscar-winning filmmaker Damien Chazelle, the whisky brand revealed on Tuesday, November 10. The film launches her signature Go Go Highball serve and a limited-edition bottle.
It is a short, stylish piece of branded cinema. And it pairs a pop star with the director of La La Land, Whiplash, First Man and Babylon.
A French New Wave look
Chazelle took his cue from French New Wave cinema, the late-1950s and 1960s movement associated with directors Jean-Luc Godard and François Truffaut. Those filmmakers favored low budgets, on-location shooting, handheld cameras, natural light and jarring jump cuts.
The ad does not copy the style outright. Those films were usually black and white, while this one has a warm, hazy, mid-century palette.
Carpenter walks into a jazzy nightclub and orders a drink made with Johnnie Walker at the bar. The camera swings casually as she enters, and she winks at the lens.
The party only kicks into gear as she moves through the venue, with confetti flying over her head. She finds a couple of friends and clinks glasses with them, then disappears into the crowd while the camera hunts for her. Live jazz plays throughout. She ends by saying to the camera: "Keep walking."
What the campaign sells
The film promotes the Go Go Highball serve and a limited-edition Johnnie Walker Black Label bottle inspired by Carpenter's style. Both are rolling out across Europe, Australia and North America now, with more markets to follow in the coming months.
Johnnie Walker says the project is part of a wider music push to champion artists who stretch creative boundaries. Carpenter's work with the brand is described as an ongoing partnership.
What Carpenter and Chazelle said
Carpenter said the shoot was "such a creative adventure." She described a shared aim to make "a true cinematic experience that was playful, unexpected, and full of personality."
"I'm a long-time fan of Damien's work, so it was exciting to bring this visual world to life alongside him," she said. She added that the film was a way to tell the Keep Walking story and capture the energy of the brand's next chapter.
In an interview released alongside the campaign, she said working with a director known for music-driven films felt especially fitting. "Acting and music have always gone hand in hand for me," she said.
She was recently cast as Ginger Rogers in an upcoming Fred Astaire biopic. Asked which movie musical she would like to star in someday, she named 9 to 5, saying she had just rewatched it and is "the biggest Dolly [Parton] fan."
Carpenter last released music in 2025. Her album Man's Best Friend became her second No. 1 on the Billboard 200 and produced the Hot 100-topping single "Manchild."
