A brand video for Louis XIII Cognac, "One Note Prelude," created by FF Los Angeles, aims to build a drinking ritual around the Rémy Martin brand.
"The ritual of consumption of champagne - the cork exploding, saying cheers, the emotion - is one of the reasons the drink is so widespread," said Fred Raillard, co-founder and CEO of FF Los Angeles. "The marketing idea is to kind of have our own ritual of consumption for Louis XIII Cognac."
The two-minute video centers on a one-note symphony entirely constructed around the note, G-sharp, which is also the sound made by two, toasting cognac glasses. The musical prelude was composed by Yaron Herman, a Paris-based Israeli pianist. Herman incorporates piano and string instruments alongside the clinking Baccarat, using moments of silence, pacing and different octaves to create a pristine and memorable piece of music.
"One Note Prelude" builds anticipation by lingering on close-ups of the musicians’ hands, as they carefully draw their bows and press keys to intonate the G-sharps. Playing with the idea of timelessness - Louis XIII Cognac was first created in 1874 - the classicism of the instruments is contrasted by another, more futuristic element. The camera cuts to track the journey of two, holly-red robotic arms, each clasping cognac glasses, that slowly reach toward each other for their big moment.
Louis XIII is a high-end luxury brand with the entry-sized 750 ml bottle costing about $3,000. If you have to ask…
"It is the top, top, top cognac in France," said Raillard. "Rihanna sings about it in one of her songs. It is very famous in the music industry, Hollywood, Bollywood and the Beijing cinema. The people who have this kind of money are in the quest of education, taste, culture, experience and storytelling that really touches you."
The video debuted on the Louis XIII website last week and is intended to organically grow among luxury consumers without great promotion while inspiring conversation and imbuing cognac with its own set of rituals.