Crown Royal X Bill Pickett Rodeo
While Texas Rodeo iconography is widely celebrated, the Black icons it’s built upon often remain in the background. We set out to design a brand platform to honor the incredible Black cowboys and cowgirls of Fort Worth, Texas.
The Royal Ride
On Juneteenth 2022, Crown Royal celebrated the start of the Bill Pickett Rodeo with our processional ride into the rodeo showing authentic, Black cowboys–how they ride, how they show up, and even, how they dress.Featured were: Tory Johnson, Crown Royal sponsored Rider, steer wrestler and 4th generation cowboy, Keiara Wade, lone female member of Compton Cowboys, activist Brianna Noble, Black horsewoman who became famous for leading a George Floyd protest on horseback in 2020, and Denard Hunt, an up-and-coming Black rodeo superstar.
Honoring Ms. Opal Lee:
Grandmother of Juneteenth
In collaboration with their rodeo partners and That Deserves A Crown Program, Crown Royal honored Ms. Opal Lee, the grandmother of Juneteenth, as the “Royal Rider” recipient. Additionally, Crown Royal donated $25,000 to the National Multicultural Western Heritage Museum to further their mission of preserving iconic African American history as an essential part of Western and cowboy culture. In the end, Crown Royal believes that keeping communities royal depends on those willing to join the ride. And join they did.
