A Tale of Spirits
how the story began
Like all fairytales, our story starts with famous words…
ONCE UPON A TIME, there was a liqueur. Its name was well known to all the corners of the world; however, a bit neglected and forgotten during the years, it needed some dusting and polishing.
The name was Grand Marnier.
Created in 1880 by Louis Alexandre Marnier-Lapostolle, Grand Marnier is the unique alchemy of French Cognac and exotic bitter oranges.
Grand Marnier is an expression of French sophistication and style with a bold twist of eccentricity. Unexpected, irreverent, cool but approachable, and intriguingly, Grand Marnier inspires to ‘Live Grand’ by creatively twisting traditions and elevating the Good to Grand.
Since 2016, the Campari Group has owned the Grand Marnier brand.
the client’s brief
In 2018, Campari UK appointed us to produce creative photography and short video content for Grand Marnier.
The brief in developing a story called “the Grand Alchemy” asked us to deliver:
A concept and creative ideas;
Visual identity: photography style, mood and lighting, colour palette;
Still images and video contents featuring brand ambassadors as “alchemists” in their industries, spanning from mixology to art and fashion.
Our mandate included all the aspects in producing a visual campaign, from set design, logistics and location selection, model casting, art direction and image post-production.
our concept
After careful research and brainstorming, we came with a winning concept. Six keywords, which form a significant phrase altogether:
CONTEMPORARY
STORYTELLING
PERFORMANCE
on
MIXED MEDIA
about
MAGICAL
TRANSMUTATION
The scene becomes a performing set, where the protagonists create a story of transmutation, or, to be consistent with the brief,
A Tale of AlchemyThe root of the campaign is based on Grand Marnier’s partnership with people who are not just good at what they do; they are Grand.
From fashion designers to artists and mixologists, each of these talents has an excellent skill, a certain ‘je-ne-sais-quoi’ that makes them Grand.
Working with our client, we identified the ‘alchemists’, who should become brand ambassadors, to be featured.
For each of them, we created a magical story to be pictured on stage, and a campaign, to be followed up on various media, based on the straplines/hashtags
#whatmakesyouGrand
#makemeGrand
#liveGrand
This article will introduce the first of the alchemists, Stefano Chilà, spirit sommelier at the prestigious Annabel’s Club in London.
storyboard & sketchbook
Stefano Chilà’s story plays on the two facets of his persona; classic and sophisticated in his uniform as Spirit Sommelier at Annabel’s Club, hipster and cool when off-duty with his body ornate by lots of meaningful tattoos.
These two facets inspired us to create two sets:
High-key set
Stefano in his work uniform is preparing his signature cocktail – the Grand Sidecar – while other hands are sticking out from the red panel in the back – his hands and tattooed arms – are passing him the many ingredients and tools, interacting with him.
Low-key set
Stefano is wearing his off-duty clothing, showing his tattooed arms. This time, the hands sticking out from the background are not his; they are others’ hands, trying to touch him, somehow asking and pushing him to prepare another cocktail.
To add dynamism and reading interpretations to this scene, we thought to create a scrambled mosaic from the two sets to be worked on in post-production.
delivered pictures & video
Our sketches are always instrumental in visualising the scene and communicating ideas to the client and team.
Watching the outcome of this project, we are particularly pleased with how close the final pictures are to the initial sketches.
the scrambled mosaic
A Tale of Spiritsphotography & production // Marco Joe Fazio
filmmaking // Bradley Dove-Dixon
art direction // Benedicte Arora
set & props styling // Harriet Porter
key scenic // Ken Curl
fashion styling // Martha Welles
hairstyling // Dar Barot
make-up // Fanny Burgos
1st assistant photographer // Marian Alonso
assistant photographer // Wayne Maurice Smith
set & props assistant // Rae Howard
wardrobe assistant // Sophie Dampier-Jeans
hairstyle assistant // Daniel Rachev
spirit alchemist & consultant // Stefano Chilà
what lies beneath
Discover what lies beneath of this Grand visual story, reading the book “Grand Marnier, A Tale of Alchemy”, on sale on blurb.co.uk
