In 2026, Legion M piloted an initiative to provide agency advertising services to companies looking to launch equity-crowdfunded offerings. I, as the Legion M Creative Director, was tapped to spearhead the program along with CEO Paul Scanlan. We partnered with Chay Spirits, an innovative alcohol company selling specially formulated all-natural and plant-based sweetened flavored vodkas and ready-to-drink cocktails. The company was founded by Chase Glick and his father, Jon Glick, following Chase's 150 lb weight loss journey.
Chase found that while other areas of the market were moving away from sugar, the alcohol industry was woefully behind, and what sugar-free products did exist leaning heavily on artificial sweeteners. When Chase would go out to celebrate with his friends, he had to choose between cocktails that were packed with sugar, or "miss out" altogether. Necessity being the mother of invention, Chase & Jon developed Chay flavored vodkas & RTD cocktails formulated specifically to taste great and include better-for-you ingredients.
Our campaign centered around several components: Chase's story, the unique formulation that set Chay Spirits apart from other brands, and consumers in the market that were ready for a "better-for-you" way to celebrate. We invited investors to join the "Chay Nation" and be a part of the fast-growing company.
Equity-crowdfunding campaigns are already a complicated in that they are beholden to specific laws surrounding the promotion of securities; the fact that this was an alcohol brand added an additional layer of complexity to the campaign. Aside from the 21+ element and the differing laws state-to-state, we were advised not to describe the formula as "healthier" due to the laws around alcohol promotion (even though a version of that messaging was integral Chase's decision to found the company in the first place). Finding creative ways to discuss what made the brand unique, without explicitly touting certain stand-out qualities of the product, made for an interesting challenge!
Below, you'll see the ads that I personally produced for the campaign. The above investment video was produced/edited by Patryk Rydzewski of Zew Media with several rounds of notes provided by myself, Paul Scanlan, and the Chay team. To view the complete Wefunder campaign we produced for the offering, visit: https://wefunder.com/chayspirits
Product Focus
Emphasis on Proprietary, ZERO-SUGAR Formula
EMPHASIS ON FOUNDER CHASE GLICK
Gen Z Drinking Stats
One of the harder stats to combat when promoting an alcohol brand is the reality that people are generally drinking less, especially younger generations. One of the memes that makes the rounds fairly often focuses on the idea that Gen Z is no longer drinking, for various reasons (health, economics of a night out, the social fear of getting filmed & posted while intoxicated, and the abundance of legalized alternatives such as cannabis).
I wanted to try and flip this viral meme on it's head with an eye-catching scroll-stopper that ran counter to the prevailing stats. Our partners found a number of studies that helped explain why their product still was a good fit for younger generations and fit into their lifestyle, and we crafted messaging that reframed the trend. Because our campaign was primarily targeting investors in the company, not just consumers of the product, we felt that it was important to showcase why Chay fit into the modern lifestyle and had potential for longevity & growth despite the prevailing consumer trend away from alcohol.
