The Brief
We had just wrapped a job for Absolut SA, and in the debriefing the client mentioned that the brand’s flavoured vodkas weren’t gaining traction. They needed to up the awareness and sales. We threw an idea across the table – “How about pairing each flavour with a South African Influencer? We could shoot each variant, and get the brand and the Influencers to share the content.” The concept stuck, and after a more formal creative pitch, MMM secured the thumbs up and got down to business.
MMMobsters
- Executive Producer: Thoban Jappie
- Producer: Roy Potterill
- Creative Director: Dylan Culhane
- Production Manager: Ali Conn
- Photography: Tyrone Bradley
- Camera Assistant: Jonathan Ferreira
- Stylist: Armand Dicker
- Hair & Make-up: Cheryl Parker
- Hair & Make-up: Orli Meiri
- Videography & Cinemagraphs: Ryan Jarrett
Cinemagraphs
The MMMob Approach
MMM’s Creative Director developed a simple, yet strong visual look and feel. The vivid colour of each Absolut variant would lead the way, dictating the hue of each shot and the style of the paired Influencer. We called the project, Absolut FLAVA (which went on to be the actual campaign name). Our Creative Treatment for the campaign was approved by the client, and we started hunting for our style icons.
Khuli Chana, a longstanding Absolut Ambassador, was assigned to Absolut Original. The fab Twiggy Moli, known for her bleached-blonde hairdo, was the perfect fit for Vanilla. Radio and TV personality, LootLove was matched to Kurant, thanks to her street style look. Mandarin needed a star on the rise, and Shane Eagle was the guy for the role. And lastly, Photographer & Fashion Influencer Trevor Stuurman, was matched with Lime. We presented a customised concept to each subject, ensuring the look imagined was authentic to their style, and personality.
The shoots all took place in a darkened Photographic Studio. This allowed our MMMobster behind the camera, to control and shape the ambient light, using a different Colour Gel for each FLAVA. A laser-cut stencil of the Absolut logo, was attached to some of the lights and gels, projecting the CI into the shots. We got creative, beaming the logo onto backdrops, the subjects and even the product.
The MMMob’s Stylist was after an editorial look, so they sourced unique pieces for each Influencer. In some cases, garments were tailored further, to create a customised and couture feel. Our onset fashionista worked closely with our Creative Director, Photographer and Hair and Makeup Artist, to shape a popping look for each FLAVA.
The output was predominantly Photographic, but the MMMob enlisted a Videographer to join us on set, with the sole purpose of creating thumb-stopping GIF content of both subjects, and product. In addition, we set up an onset workspace, where an Absolut rep made unique cocktails for each FLAVA, and these were captured in isolation, and/or in the setup with the Influencer.
The timeline on this project was fast-paced. Only 3 weeks after that first casual chat; we had planned, shot, edited and delivered the whole damn thing. The clients were so blown away by the final material, that there were no reverts! Halfway through the campaign, the success of the FLAVA campaign was evident – engagement was on the up, and sale stats had our client smiling. By the time the campaign schedule was wrapped up, the featured Absolut products were completely sold out.
ABSOLUT KURANT ft Lootlove
ABSOLUT LIME ft Trevor Stuurman
ABSOLUT MANDRIN ft Shane Eagle
ABSOLUT ORIGINAL ft Khuli Chana
ABSOLUT VANILIA ft Twiggy Moli
Find Us
We are co-located within the offices of POST, in the Old Castle Brewery.
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