Droga5 enlisted New York rapper Nas in its latest spot for Hennessy, entitled “The Ride..”
Nas’ association with the brand dates back to his classic 1994 debut Illmatic, where the brand is mentioned on the very first track. He signed a deal with the company at the beginning of last year to appear in the latest iteration of its “Wild Rabbit” campaign, which finally comes to life with “The Ride.”
The 60-second spot channels Nas’ own past with a re-worked version of the song “New York State of Mind” from his debut. Over Nas’ recitation of the re-imagined lyrics he steps on a subway car and is seemingly transported back in time to the 80s, with time progressing over the course of the ad so that when he emerges from the car later, he is back in the present day. A newspaper headline reading “Panic on Wall Street” at one point signifies a transition to the modern era. It’s all very slick and stylish, with plenty of attention to detail lavished on the concept. The spot ends with Nas walking toward a stage after uttering the line “It was only right that I was born to use mics,” and the text “I tell the stories that need to be told” appearing onscreen, followed by the “What’s your Wild Rabbit?” tagline.
Credits:
Agency: Droga5 NY
Creative Chairman: David Droga
Chief Creative Officer: Ted Royer
Group Creative Director: Paul Bichler
Creative Director: Alexander Nowak
Creative Director: Felix Richter
Copywriter: Brian Eden
Art Director: Ben Grube
Chief Creation Officer: Sally-Ann Dale
Executive Producer: Scott Chinn
Associate Producer: Goldie Robbens
Global Chief Strategy Officer: Jonny Bauer
Group Strategy Director: Donny Jensen
Strategist: Zack Cohn
Group Account Directors: Nick Simons & Ben Myers
Account Director: Bola Adekoya
Account Manager: Joan Wortmann
Client Moët Hennessy USA
SVP, Marketing: Rodney Williams
VP, Consumer Marketing: Barbara Jackson
Production Company: Epoch Films
Director: Martin de Thurah
DOP: Martijn van Broekhuizen
Executive Producer: Melissa Culligan
Producer: Karen O’Brien
Czech Production Company: Unit + Sofa
Producer: Jitka Fridrichova
Editorial: Rock Paper Scissors
Editor: Ted Guard
Assistant Editor: JK Carrington
Executive Producer: Eve Kornblum
Producer: Jenny Greenfield
Post Production: The Mill New York
Post Producer: Rachael Trillo
Lead Flame Artist: Nathan Kane
DI Colorist: Fergus McCall
Music: Q Department
Creative Director: Draz Bosnjak
Producer: Guin Frehling
Sampled Track: “New York State of Mind” by Nas
Sound: Sound Lounge
Mixer: Tom Jucarone