How CÎROC’s First Ever UK Campaign, ‘Make Big Moves’, Boldly Came to Life

It’s hard to believe that 'Make Big Moves' is the French vodka brand's first campaign across the channel as the drink itself is seemingly ubiquitous in bars and music videos alike. Nevertheless, to make a bold statement, the brand enlisted the creme de la creme of UK entertainment, tapping Bimini, Winnie Harlow, and Krept & Konan to star in its colourful and stylish campaign. 

Directed by Untold Studios’ Meeks+Frost and produced for creative agency Hey Human by Another’s Fiona Boakes, the spots showcase the luxe nature of the products by transforming ‘mundane’ locations into glamorous sets, complemented by couture fashion and styling. The timeline was tight with Another needing to source all the shoot essentials in just two weeks. For Meeks+Frost, this was their first commercial shoot, and the duo applied the style they’ve come to be known to a new medium, bringing heaps of London style with a dash of nostalgic 2000s feel to the final spots. The directing duo note that making the spot was a “team sport” and that having the right production partner was “crucial” to making their ideas a reality. 

With three flavours on show - original for Krept & Konan, pineapple for Winnie Harlow, and red berry for Bimini - the spots take place in a London off-licence and a laundrette, making a very good case for bringing the party with you, wherever that might be. 

Below, LBB speaks to Untold Studios’ directors Meeks+Frost, and Another’s senior producer Fiona Boakes, about finding the glamour in unexpected places, the inspiration behind the campaign, and how the motto “Make Big Moves” guided them all. 

LBB> What was the initial inspiration for the CÎROC ‘Make Big Moves’ campaign? What was the creative process like to bring the brief to life? Were there any changes made from page to screen?

Meeks+Frost> We took inspiration from the actual name of the campaign, “Make Big Moves”. That’s a motto that we live by in our own daily lives. We brought our take on what making big moves is and applied it to the CÎROC image, and extended its touch to our wonderful talent who, in their own way, make big moves themselves. What a family of play makers we are, right?

Bringing it to life came down to the team seeing the vision and with us just applying our spin on what we know works with the product and narrative, connecting to the audience. Everyone delivered. You just need to be fierce and passionate in the delivery of the vision and smooth and efficient in the process of execution.

From start to the finish, the main vision stuck true. Obviously, there are a few shots you miss out and can’t get, either due to time restraints, edit length, or guidelines but as a director, you fight for your vision till the end, with the support from our creatives alongside us.

LBB>Tell us a little bit about the brief for production – what was your initial thinking when you saw it? 

Fiona> It was a really exciting brief from the outset, bags of colour and bold attitudes with talent that could be unapologetically themselves - Bimini, Winnie Harlow, and Krept & Konan. Collaborative, agile creative production is what we’re known for, and we brought our 20+ years’ experience to the project in what was a fantastic collaboration with creative agency Hey Human and the directors, the CÎROC brand team and amazing talent.

LBB> And did you have any references in mind when shooting?

Meeks+Frost> Given the primary colour coding of the flavours and each flavour having their assigned character, we wanted the films to feel vibrant, bold and cinematic yet playful in their nature. Hype Williams always comes to mind as a reference when talking about the injection of colour and vibrancy into the picture. The neon spa scene featuring Krept and Konan is a touch of Belly and Rush Hour infused into one. Both references we laid out in our treatments as well as references of fish eye shots and that 2000s feel.

Also as Londoners, you can see the influences there, but looking at the sets and the worlds created, this could be placed anywhere in the world.

LBB> How would you two describe your directing style, and how did you bring this to the shoot?

Meeks+Frost> We always want our work to have an impact when concerned with the aesthetic and cinematics of it all. Also wanting to get across a storyline or narrative no matter how small. We love attaching a background theme that catches attention. On set you need to show confidence in your work and the execution. If you don’t believe, then no one else will.

LBB> The three videos are very visually stunning. What is the story behind the colour choices, fashion choices, and set choices? 

Fiona> Each coloured world was chosen based on three key flavour variations of CÎROC, the classic blue dot, red berry and yellow pineapple. Our talent were each assigned to a colour, each film starts on a hero shot of the bottle product, we are then transported through the iconic CÎROC orb and into the colourful worlds. Krept & Konan blue, Bimini red and Winnie Harlow yellow. The sets and fashion all needed to reflect the high-end luxe of CÎROC vodka while allowing the talent to showcase their unapologetic selves, whether kicking back and relaxing in a spa, playing a game of pool in a couture dress or waiting for the finishing piece of your outfit to quickly dry before heading out to meet The Collective at the local CÎROC shop. Showcasing glamour in everyday moments.

LBB> From a production perspective, what were some challenging aspects of the shoot and how did you overcome them? 

Fiona> Working closely with creative agency Hey Human, we worked to an incredibly tight turnaround time from briefing to production, having just two weeks of pre-production to source all locations including permits, wardrobes, set design, etc. We like a challenge and given we knew the intent of the scenes we made a head start on sourcing locations before starting the production. Untold were a great partner and jumped onboard straightaway with our production ideas, and we put together a fantastic team quickly to make this happen. 

LBB> How important is it to get the right production partner to make your creative ideas a reality?

Meeks + Frost> It is crucial. Being on the same page and sharing the same passion for what the final output of the project should look like is a big factor. Making this work is a team sport as we all know, so to be collaborative in this instance you need teamwork and chemistry. Not only is it great to see an idea start from nothing and come to life, but it is great to enjoy the process of creating it with your production crew. It makes it all that more special.

LBB> Were there any “big moves” Another needed to make during this production, or take risks that paid off?

Fiona> It was a huge joint effort between Hey Human, Diageo and Another to deliver this campaign in record time. We sourced 1,000+ bottles of CÎROC in rapid time to create our very own colourful CÎROC shop to bring the creative concept to life.

LBB> And what was it like to work with Meeks + Frost? 

Fiona> It was a fantastic experience, although it was their first commercial shoot the young siblings took it in their stride and did an excellent job, and we are really excited to see their progress in future.

LBB> What was the most challenging part of this shoot and how did you work through it?

Meeks+Frost> There will always be challenges and obstacles in creative campaigns, it’s just the nature of the game. Things don’t always go to plan. And so you must be resilient and flexible. Be like water, my friend. We face challenges with a smile on our face. Always ready for a scuffle.

LBB> What were some highlights about getting to work on this campaign?

Meeks+Frost> Really and truly it was us bringing our own style to the commercial industry. Applying what we know and love in a different element, making it work, and creating a sweet flavour. Building different worlds with different characters. Creating our own narrative. The talent, production team, and client all saw the vision and delivered. 

Fiona> Collaborating on a vibrant, exciting campaign produced in record time, and getting to swoon over the amazing outfits!