There has always been something magical about the beautiful, yet somewhat absurd Victorian-esque surrealism of Hendrick’s Gin.
This season, the brand is for the first time, bringing together live-action and animation in its latest campaign, Refreshing Encounters, an omnichannel campaign based on unexpected moments that prompt curiosity to break free from convention.
Starting in the depths of the ocean, with human characters contained in tiny mechanical bubbles, the video adopts the style of a Victorian adventure tale. Monochrome tones flood the screen while the actors look passively out of their windows, wishing to be far away. Almost instantly our lead protagonist’s longing is acknowledged, as a colourful sea creature appears and calls him to follow on a journey of magical adventure.
Juxtaposing the dull, monotony of his underwater world, our hero arrives at a vibrant, luscious landscape full of cucumbers and roses. He sees an abundance of magnificent, animated creatures and human characters, joining them to frolic in a refreshing new landscape. As the camera pulls back, it becomes clear this resplendent new world all takes place inside of a Hendrick’s bottle. Our narrator concludes: “Refreshingly Curious, Hendrick’s Gin.”
Directed by the critically acclaimed Spike Jonze protégés and conceptually driven absurdist duo, The Perlorian Brothers, the TVC is brought to life by skilled visual storytellers who bring a refreshingly peculiar perspective to Hendrick’s wonderland of Victorian surrealism, infusing the magic of the Hendrick’s world with a spark of nuanced human complexity for the first time ever in the brand’s history. The synergies between the world’s most avant-garde Gin brand and the award-winning duo make the partnership a union made in gin heaven.
For the first time in Hendrick’s history, the world’s most unusual gin casts real actors to appear in the campaign, creating an intriguing mix of humanity and mysticism. The inspiration to combine animation and real-life came from Karel Zeman, a 1950s Czech filmmaker who pioneered the implementation of living actors featuring in illustrated movies. The theme of animation aligns with the brand’s surrealist ethos as, with ‘the great magical power of animation, anything is possible.’
“For the first time in Hendrick’s history, we’ve punctuated our brand world with real-life people! The effect brings an exciting new dimension to our vision and, we hope, conveys a message that, for everyone, curiosity can be rewarded in the most wondrous ways. Working with The Perlorian Brothers was the perfect partnership, they share our alternative way of looking at the world and brought the idea of Refreshing Encounters to life in a way that makes you want to dive into the screen and party with flamingos.” Muiris Ó Riada, Global Brand Director at Hendrick’s Gin
Created in partnership with creative agency Quaker City Mercantile, the omnichannel campaign begins in a mundane, lacklustre underworld with our live actors trapped in mechanical bubbles with no space for imagination, all until our lead protagonist catches a glimpse of a mesmerising and absurd curiosity.
Born to notice the unusual and investigate it for no better reason than to see ‘what if’, our hero breaks free from the rational convention of his solitary mechanical bubble to follow his curiosity. Making the bold move from the familiar to the unexpected, our lead character discovers a vibrant new world adorned with an abundance of cucumber, rose, cascading waterfalls, curious creatures, and human characters.
A truly Refreshing Encounter infused with pleasure beyond belief filling our lead character with a sense of inexplicable joy beyond reason.
“Hendrick’s is absolutely unique as a brand. Their playfulness and absurdity perfectly aligned with our creative outlook. We’re curious by nature, so bringing the Hendrick’s world to life was one of the most exciting creative adventures we’ve been on.” The Perlorian Brothers
The omnichannel global Refreshing Encounters campaign launches with assets across multiple touchpoints, including TVC, Advocacy, Social, OOH, and Shopper.
For more information on Hendrick’s Gin, go to hendricksgin.com
