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Functional beverage brand Recess is calling for an end to Dry January, a trend in which consumers abstain from alcohol during the first month of the year to reset their health and wellness, according to details shared with Marketing Dive. The new campaign, launched in the first week of January, focuses on moderation and comes as other performance and non-alcoholic brands including Athletic Brewing, Hopwtr and Seedlip are pitching new pitches to those who abstain from alcohol altogether.
“Every other alcohol alternative brand would say, ‘Drink me instead of alcohol all month long,’” Recess founder and co-CEO Ben Witte said of the campaign’s origins. “Dry January has become the biggest New Year’s resolution for many people. Like most New Year’s resolutions, even though they say they’ll do it, most people don’t get it done.”
The centerpiece of the campaign was a full-page ad in the New York Times on January 11, coinciding with Quitter’s Day weekend, when many people give up on their New Year’s resolutions. The ad takes the form of Witte’s manifesto, which claims “You’re not broken. You don’t need a new you” and positions Recess as “an antidote to modernity.”
“It’s obviously not political, but I think these days everyone wants moderation in all aspects of life,” Witte said of the manifesto. “We live in a world of extremes right now – extreme change, extreme politics. I think what people are looking for is balance, moderation, equilibrium. Having a brand that symbolizes that and helps lead us there is what we’re trying to do.”
This effort was accomplished through a partnership between Recess’s in-house marketing team and agency Better Half. Better Half teamed up with Equinox in 2023 for a similarly iconic campaign, ‘We Don’t Speak January’.
everything in moderation
In conjunction with a Quitter’s Day event featuring a Hugel-sponsored DJ set on January 9th at The Snow Lodge in Aspen, Colorado, the campaign includes an in-house media push, influencer partnerships, and traditional and digital out-of-home advertising. The media approach should be moderate, in line with the tone of the campaign.
“I see this campaign as solidifying our position as an understated brand. I don’t see this as a large-scale national campaign,” Witte said.
Recess launched in 2018 as a line of sparkling waters with hemp extract and adaptogens, packaged in pastel-colored cans to soothe stressed-out millennials. The company has since shifted its focus from CBD-infused beverages to additional lines, including functional Recess Mood beverages and Recess Zero Proof handcrafted mocktails.
The brand’s primary use case is as a replacement for a glass of wine in the evening, a drink between drinks, or as an alcohol alternative while socializing, Witte explained. These events are consistent with a drinking trend driven by younger consumers who drink less frequently. Although these changes are less significant than total abstinence, they still have a significant impact on the alcohol industry.
“I don’t like the term sober curiosity because I think there are more people who don’t drink at all. The biggest trend is about moderation, not abstinence,” Witte said. “Any conversation about the ‘death of alcohol’ has been dramatically exaggerated, even among Gen Z.”
