Lowe Howard-Spink unveiled its first TV ad for Smirnoff this week when
it launched Smirnoff Black with a campaign that seeks to underline the
Russian heritage of the brand.
The commercial, which is set in pre-revolutionary Russia, will be
screened for one month on Channel 4 and satellite TV backed by a budget
of pounds 1 million.
The 60-second execution is filmed on an epic scale with a cast of 700
extras. It depicts a mob of Russian peasants rushing through a snowy
square at night and storming a palace. They burst into a sumptuous room
where a Russian nobleman is sipping a glass of Smirnoff Black.
The peasant leader shouts: ‘We are the people’s army. All members of the
aristocracy are to be arrested!’ He orders the mob to remove the
nobleman, and remains alone in the room with the Smirnoff Black. He
pours himself a shot and is about to taste the drink when another group
of peasants rushes in.
The leader of the new group mistakes the first leader for a nobleman
because he is drinking Smirnoff Black. The first peasant leader insists
he is ‘people’s army, too’. But the second leader refuses to believe him
and orders him to be taken away.
The second leader settles down to try Smirnoff Black. And the mistake is
repeated with a new set of peasants.
The ad ends with the words: ‘The mellow taste of Smirnoff Black.
Imperial Russia’s best-kept secret.’
Jonathan Stordy, Smirnoff’s marketing controller, said: ‘The objective
of this ad is not just to benefit Black but the whole Smirnoff brand.
Lowes has taken a simple idea and created a highly emotional film.’
The commercial was written by Phil Dearman, art directed by Charles Inge
and directed by Barry Myers through Spots.
Client of the Week, p16
