Campari turns expectation on its head in "How to Drink a Campari," a sleek and surreal series of videos from Japan.
In each short film, a woman must figure out how to drink a glass of Campari that has been turned upside-down. Given that we've all faced this confounding situation at one time or another, this campaign could save your life!
"We wanted to present a cool, contemporary and smart woman who would show viewers the mystery of Campari," says Engelberts Lernert of Amsterdam-based directing duo Lernert & Sander, who created the spots with Tokyo ad shop Mori Inc. "Someone with a sexy, clever brain. An enticing problem solver—a modern take on the Campari Girl of years past."
That said, our heroine gets a little bit of help putting things right(-side up)—from a pair of guys who literally bring on the cool—without spilling a single drop.
In the case of the clip below, "we thought that something iconic, like a big, red C, would be appropriate for the classic Campari and soda pairing," Lernert says.
Next, the notion of "turning tables" is taken to new extremes for the Campari Shakerato cocktail, with visuals Lernert describes as "cunning, yet precise":
Finally, with the spot below, "we wanted to add a bit of mischief to the frozen Negroni aperitif film," says Lernert. Don't try this at home unless you're stone-cold sober:
Aimed at 20- to 49-year-old men, the videos are running in Japanese media owned by Campari distributor Suntory. They're novel for the category (though perhaps restrained by the standards of Japanese ads, which tend to be unusual at the very least). The white, minimalist sets and spare, jazzy score add to the quirky fun.
Of course, it wasn't easy creating a campaign with so much upside.
"Because everything was done practically and filmed in camera, we had to work nimbly during production—there was no room for error," Lernert says. For example, "the ice block was formed over six weeks in order to achieve the beautiful transparency that we were looking for, but it was so big that there were technical difficulties. Mainly, it kept melting. We ended up using LED lights on set so it wouldn't melt as quickly."
CREDITS
Client: Campari Japan / Suntory
Concept & Direction: Lernert & Sander
Creative Director: Morihiro Harano
DOP: Patrick Otten
Art Director: Tom Darmstaedter
Styling: Thomas Vermeer
Make Up: Florence Teerlinck
Editor: Simone Rau
Grading & Online: Hectic Electric
Music & Sound Design: Diederik Idenburg
Casting: Alexandra Carrée
Models: Layna, Nicola & Olav (Dominique Models)
Project Manager: Misato Tachibana, Motoko Shimizu
Producer: Marie-Hélène Van Quickenborne, Bram Sterckx
Executive Producer: Maarten Le Roy
Creative Agency: Mori Inc. / Lernert & Sander
Production Company: ADULT (adult-image.tv)
