Drambuie Targets A New Generation

 

Launched in 2011, A Taste of the Extraordinary marked a major departure from the traditional image of Drambuie, aimed at rejuvenating the brand and attracting a new generation of discerning drinkers. In print, the creative framed the amber Drambuie bottle within an infinite, moonlit, monochrome landscape inspired by surreal art. It conjured an element of intrigue and mystery; the surreal world acting as a visual metaphor for the depth and complexity of the drink and an invitation to consumers to discover Drambuie’s unique taste.

 

Set in a sequence of surreal, extraordinary worlds, the new commercial’s black and white frames create a filmic quality into which surrealist motifs are cast to once again create a metaphor for the taste of Drambuie – a complex and intriguing blend of aged Scotch whisky, spices and heather honey.

 

The film opens in an unusual bar filled with a host of surreal characters: a long perspective and sense of otherworldliness informs the viewer that this is a place removed from the ordinary. An extraordinary looking bartender comes into view behind the shadowy bar, on which a bottle of Drambuie glows amber in the light. The bartender invites the viewer to experience ‘a taste of the extraordinary.’ In a scene defying possibility he offers a glass holding ice and ginger beer upside down and pours the Drambuie bottle upwards into the glass.

 

As he replaces the bottle onto the bar top it becomes a vast, monochrome floored landscape framed by a clouded night sky that moves rapidly. The Drambuie bottle casts a shadow on a wall through which the bartender moves and beckons the viewer. This acts as a portal into yet another extraordinary landscape in which strange characters (including one carrying a large egg) evoke the key ingredients of Drambuie (aged Scotch whisky, spices, heather honey) and, finally, the brand’s name. The film ends on three men chanting the three different syllables of Dram-boo-eee rhythmically while standing up in a rowing boat marooned in a surreal, arid landscape.

 

 

To bring the surreal world to the screen, Sell! Sell! enlisted the help of director Chino Moya at HSI, who overcame a series of technical challenges with a mixture of traditional and cutting-edge film techniques.

 

 

Moya, a Spaniard with a love of the surreal, used clever lighting and a set built at odd angles to create the unusual bar setting. Live action and separately shot miniature elements were mixed to create the impossible surreal landscape scenes, such as an unusual character standing on a ladder thousands of feet high. In the bar scene where the barman pours Drambuie upwards into a glass to create a Rusty Mule, the shot is the result of three separate shots seamlessly knitted together. The end result is a commercial that has the feel and appearance of an early 20th century surrealist film, but with shots that could only have been achieved today.

 

Tim Dewey, global marketing director commented: “A Taste of the Extraordinary has taken Drambuie in a bold new direction to attract a new generation of drinkers. We wanted to create something that captivates our audience and is as distinctive as the brand itself – The Extraordinary Bar does this by depicting an extraordinary, rich and abstract world. It is a visual metaphor of the depth and complexity of Drambuie.”

 

Vic Polkinghorne, creative director at Sell! Sell!, said: “ ‘A Taste of the Extraordinary’ brings to life the qualities that make Drambuie special, but crucially it also gives the audience something more interesting to buy into than the current drinks industry convention of happy-clappy drones from central casting dancing around drinking the product.”