Canadian Club Whiskey Hidden Cases

by Cory · Published February 7, 2015 · Updated January 23, 2016

First crafted in 1858, Canadian Club Whiskey Hidden Cases advertising campaign captivated adventurers and whiskey enthusiasts alike.

First started in 1967, the “hide a case” campaign spearheaded Hiram Walker & Sons advertising for approximately the next five years. Revived twice more since then, in 1975 and 2010.

Canadian Club Whiskey Hidden Case Full Advertisement for the case near Lake Placid, New York.

Print advertisements announced the missing cases of whiskey that were scattered throughout various exotic locations across the world. Some being Mount Kilimanjaro (Kenya), Angel Falls (Venezuela), Mount St. Helen’s (USA), and even above the Arctic Circle. The case on Mt. Kilimanjaro was actually found nearly 10 years after the missing cases were first announced by a Dutch journalist. While most cases have been found by avid adventurers, some cases, like the one above the Arctic Circle, have never been found.

The first campaign was considered a big success and was re-established in 1975 with easier to access locations like on top of a skyscraper in New York City or in San Francisco. All-in-all, these two campaigns had 22 cases hidden across the globe, with at least 16 of them being accounted for. It is rumored that the five remaining cases remaining to be found are in the Arctic Circle, an island off of New Zealand, southern Africa, and other locations.

Nothing happened with this campaign for nearly 30 years until Canadian Club Whiskey re-created it’s hidden case competition for an online/offline hybrid. This time, unlike the others, there was a $100,000 prize at stake.

After weeding out nearly 25,000 competitors online, eight finalists embarked on a journey of a lifetime; eventually landing them in Tonga. Going through a series of adventures including sailing, biking, mental challenges, and other extreme sports; teams moved from location to location eventually leading them to the missing case. Kristina Beall, of Team USA, was crowned the winner of the most recent hidden case competition.

While reading into the hidden cases, this really reminded me of the countless hours my family and I spent trying to solve A Treasure Trove by Michael Stadther.

Below are some old advertisements for Canadian Club Whiskey.