A cognac bottle becomes a canvas for Afrobeats in Maison Martell’s new limited editions. Bright blue, radiant gold, wave-like graphics and an illustrated portrait of Nigerian musician Davido turn the packaging into a visible expression of the music rather than a conventional celebrity endorsement.
Unveiled in New York on October 28, the Martell VS and XO Afrobeats designs were created with Ghanaian visual artist Prince Gyasi, whose collaboration with Davido builds on the singer’s five-year relationship with the spirits brand. The two bottles give the same cultural idea different expressions and distribution plans.
In this article: bottle artwork inspired by rhythm, two limited-edition designs, and what product-led cultural collaborations can achieve.
Prince Gyasi turns rhythm into bottle art
Gyasi’s Martell VS label places Davido at its center, surrounded by graphic soundwaves intended to suggest his music’s reach. The design uses Martell’s established blue alongside vivid color and gold accents, with movement and West African landscapes informing its visual language.
Rather than relying on a photograph of the musician alone, the artwork interprets his image through Gyasi’s saturated, expressive style. Martell’s own campaign page describes the VS edition as a celebration of creativity in motion, while the XO version uses layered color and radiant gold to bring a related artistic treatment to a different bottle.
The collaboration connects art with music
Gyasi’s role is more specific than a campaign appearance. This is the first major product release under his position as a Martell Creative Partner, making the packaging itself an output of the relationship. His designs draw on the motion and emotional energy of Afrobeats, a genre that Davido has helped introduce to international audiences.
The collaboration also appears in Davido’s music video for Already Falling, filmed at Martell’s historic Château de Chanteloup estate in Cognac, France. Showing the bottles in the artist’s own visual world connects the limited editions with music content beyond the launch event.
The US and Africa get distinct releases
The VS Afrobeats bottle is available in the United States at selected retailers and through Martell’s website while supplies last, with a suggested retail price of US$35. The XO expression is slated for release in Nigeria, Ghana and Kenya, giving the higher-end design a specifically African rollout.
Martell introduced the collection at a private event at Bathhouse Studios in New York. Davido and Gyasi discussed the ideas behind the artwork, while the wider presentation brought music, art and product design into the same launch setting. The company has not published sales or campaign reach figures for the new bottles.
What marketers can learn from Martell’s Afrobeats bottles
The strongest creative decision is making the collaboration visible on the product. Gyasi’s artwork carries the cultural reference into the bottle itself, so the design still communicates the story after the event or music-video moment has passed. A distinctive object can give a celebrity partnership more permanence than a promotional image alone.
The regional rollout matters too. The VS edition offers a relatively accessible US release, while XO is directed toward African markets that are central to the cultural inspiration. The approach connects product positioning, creative authorship and distribution, although the announcement provides no evidence yet of incremental sales or audience growth.
Sources: Pernod Ricard USA / PR Newswire, October 29, 2026; Maison Martell campaign page; Art Plugged, October 29, 2026.
