The Grey Goose gang has traded the dirigible for a seaplane, in the first holiday campaign for the brand since BBDO won the Bacardi business in 2015.
Set in the same diffusively lit world as this summer’s airborne road trip "La Pursuit," the newly released spot "Lumière" from BBDO New York follows a stylish couple to an exclusive party where they impress the host with their taste in gifts and the guests with an unexpected light show.
"We’re building on the fact that we are already highly gifted," said Tom Swift, global vice president at Grey Goose. "It’s always a wonderful gift for the elevated moments where it’s going to be opened immediately, where the guest wants to bring something exceptional. If you get one guest to bring Grey Goose to a party, it’s a powerful way to introduce it to other people."
Grey Goose is also hoping it’s an effective way to reach younger consumers. It’s specifically targeting older millennials, ages 25 to 34, a demographic the brand refers to as LOLLIL – lovers of life, leaders in life. While Grey Goose has plenty of loyal customers who drink it often, or even exclusively, there are "others who would choose Grey Goose for certain moments," Swift said. With this holiday campaign, Grey Goose wants to reach those people to remind them that nearly everyone appreciates a bottle of quality liquor.
The gift positioning isn’t a new approach to the holidays for the brand. In 2014, Sapient Nitro’s "The Gift" made a much (much) more direct appeal to holiday shoppers. But BBDO’s work is cinematic rather than expository. It’s rooted in the resurgence of interest in cocktail culture and party etiquette. People are looking for advice about how to entertain and how to expect to be entertained.
"There’s been a lot of coverage about what it means to be an amazing host, but not a lot of coverage about what it means to be an amazing guest," Swift said. Asking that question led to a fundamental insight. "The best guests are the ones that bring not just a gift but a whole experience."
Actually delivering that message required presenting an experience as memorable to viewers as it is to the guests in the spot itself. "It was a combination of setting up thousands of practical lights that were hung throughout the forest and then augmenting each shot in post," said Marcos Kotlhar, executive creative director at BBDO New York. "The challenge was making the light installation look and feel like a breathtaking piece of art—something new and unique."
"Lumière" is directed by Johnny Green, his first work for the brand. Green also directed "I Will What I Want," Droga5's acclaimed spot for Under Armour starring ballerina Misty Copeland, a campaign that won a Cyber Grand Prix at Cannes. "The way that he can bring to life these amazing worlds, the moment where the lights come on in the forest—it genuinely feels like a party," Swift said.
"Lumière" debuts today on TV, OOH and social media in North America. It will also run in theaters in Europe. Print activations will appear in magazines like Vanity Fair beginning in November.
This won’t be the last time viewers will see this iteration of the "Fly Beyond" campaign. Future TV spots will focus on ""pursuing the extraordinary into uncharted territory with other film, experiential and social content for Grey Goose," Kotlhar said.