The end of the George Clooney era: why Nespresso chose Dua Lipa to reinvent itself

Something new is in the works at Nespresso: the company has named Dua Lipa as its new global brand ambassador, turning to the pop star to help usher in a younger, trend-driven era for the coffee brand.

Nespresso is betting on the cultural capital of the three-time Grammy winner, known for her cosmopolitan lifestyle, which she shares with her almost 90 million followers on Instagram.

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Nespresso’s bet on Generation Z

The new campaign, called “Vertuo World,” will be “by far the biggest we’ve ever done in our 40-year history” in terms of investment, Nespresso chief marketing officer Leonardo Aizpuru told Fast Company.

The multi-million dollar campaign will be launched globally on television, online videos and social media.

It will highlight drinks that are already a hit with younger consumers, including iced coffee, espresso martini and flavored café-style drinks.

George Clooney, who has been a Nespresso brand ambassador since 2006, will also make a brief appearance in the campaign, the company said in a statement.

Lipa is a logical choice for Nespresso’s turnaround. The three-time Grammy winner has built a global fan base that goes far beyond music and spans the worlds of luxury, fashion and lifestyle.

She participated in campaigns for YSL Beauty, Chanel, Porsche, Evian and Bulgari, consolidating an aspirational image.

Nespresso’s new era under Lipa will mark a shift from Clooney’s slick ads, which always featured the actor in a gray suit, often the butt of the joke.

Clooney’s unusual legacy

Lipa’s arrival also reignites attention on Clooney’s unusually relevant career as a coffee poster boy.

Over nearly two decades, the actor has used the platform not just for high-end ads, but also to talk about the war in Sudan and climate risks affecting coffee production.

Clooney used his earnings from the commercials to fund the Satellite Sentinel Project, which used spy satellites to try to inhibit the war in Sudan.

A longtime human rights advocate, he launched the project in 2010 with activist John Prendergast to draw attention to the country’s humanitarian crisis.

“Most of the money I make from Nespresso commercials I spend maintaining a satellite over the border between North Sudan and South Sudan to monitor Omar al-Bashir,” said the actor in 2013, a year after he was arrested while protesting in front of the Sudanese embassy in Washington.

Al-Bashir, former president of Sudan, was accused by the International Criminal Court of war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide.

“These things have been happening in the dark for a long time,” Clooney told CNN in an interview with Jake Tapper in 2010. Satellites are used to detect movements of helicopters and tanks and alert people in the area to prevent atrocities.

From coffee ads to the climate crisis

Clooney also used his role as ambassador to pressure Nespresso to adopt more transparency in its sustainability practices.

At a 2013 Nespresso Sustainability Advisory Board event, he said he received questions about the company’s practices at press conferences and film festivals, according to The Guardian.

“I thought if I was going to be involved with this company long-term — and I really like them — I should understand what they’re doing and what they should and could be held accountable for,” he said. In 2010, Clooney traveled to Costa Rica to visit the company’s coffee producers.

Most recently, in 2022, Clooney was the face of “The Empty Cup” campaign, which encouraged consumers to imagine life without coffee, as climate change threatens production by making growing areas unviable.

Clooney’s long tenure means that Lipa inherits a singular celebrity legacy: one in which the role of ambassador can serve as a platform for global activism.