Havas Dublin has launched a new global campaign for Bushmills Irish Whiskey called ‘Pursuing Perfection.’
Directed by Tom Green and production company Stink Films, the campaign will begin has started to air in Germany and Bulgaria and it will be rolled out across other European markets. The TV ad is part of an integrated, multi-channel campaign promoting the brand’s malt and blend (Black Bush) products.
Bushmills is the oldest licensed distillery in the world, drawing its water from the River Bush in County Antrim for over four hundred years. This heritage, combined with a long history of innovation, inspired Bushmills’ new brand line, ‘Pursuing Perfection Since 1608’. The brand is owned by the Mexican company Jose Cuervo.
“There is a saying at Bushmills ‘We’re not good because we’re old; we’re old because we’re good’. In other words, the key to longevity is our ongoing pursuit of the perfect whiskey. Part of this success can be attributed to Bushmills’ roots on the North Antrim coast, beside the Giant’s Causeway. It’s to this rugged landscape, an area of outstanding natural beauty, that the audience are transported in ‘Pursuing Perfection’, as our protagonist makes his homecoming,” says the Bushmills global brand team.
“With Bushmills now in steady growth, led by its iconic single malt whiskeys, the production and release of ‘Pursuing Perfection’ represents a major milestone for us. We are delighted with the production and confident that it will reach and connect Bushmills to consumers in our key markets on a deep emotional level.”
According to Adrian Fitz-Simon, creative director, Havas: “When we first started working with Bushmills, we quickly understood how seriously they take their whiskey making and how deeply their roots are embedded in the surrounding Antrim landscape. We wanted to capture the essence of Bushmills’ ongoing pursuit of perfection through the analogy of one person’s deep connection to this coastline and those who inhabit it. Ultimately, it is the pursuit, rather than perfection itself, that is the message – conveyed with an understated confidence that fits so well for the brand. The resulting film is a testament to the art of collaboration and to the pursuit of perfection itself.”
“Telling the story of a person’s life in snapshot felt like an opportunity to create a deeply emotive film. I wanted to bring a very strong sense of narrative but one which remained fully open to interpretation, that would hopefully create a bit more mystery for audiences to take their own meaning from. It felt like the story could have more cinematic scale that way,” says Tom Green, director, Stink Films.
“The dramatic black rocks and wild landscapes of the north coast felt like a character all of their own. I wanted the imagery to connect to the earth and brooding quality of the place and feel as elemental as the weather systems that the surfers endure; the surfers are tough there, the waves are big in the winter. It felt right to have the character work the land that is so synonymous with Bushmills. I have tried to reflect the brutality and spirituality of that life. I was incredibly fortunate to be able to work with a film worthy cast in Rory Fleck Byrne and supporting actors, as well as the real surfers of that coastline. It has been an immersive process and I hope the passion of everyone involved making it somehow exists beyond the film itself.”
CREDITS
Client: Bushmills
Global Marketing Director:Michael Cockram
Global Brand Director: Donagh McHenry
Senior Global Brand Manager: David Hackett
Agency: Havas Village Dublin
Executive Creative Director: Peter O’Dwyer
Creative Director: Adrian Fitz-Simon
Account Director: Stefan Langan
Account Executive: Meredith Davis
Agency Producer: Brilliant Productions Joanne O’Hagan
Production: Stink Films
Director: Tom Green
Producer (Stink): Dulcie Kellett
Executive Producer: Blake Powell
Head of Production: Andrew Levene
Production Assistant: Alice Evans
Executive Producers (Hinterland): Lorraine Geoghegan
Line Producer: Glen Collins
Production Manager: Yvonne Burke
Production Coordinator: Rebecca Hogg
Production Assistant: Cillian Duffy
1st AD: Richie Wilson
3rd AD: Sheena Kelly
Location Manager: Kieran Burns
Location assistant: Conor Burns
D.O.P: Kristof Brandl
Post production: Windmill Lane
Sound: Locky Butler
Music: Chaconne from Violin Partita No. 2 in D Minor by Bach
Arrangement and production: Soundtree Music.
