Absolut's Epic New Ad Whizzes Through Time and Space, From the Big Bang to Now

Absolut packs quite a lot into its epic new 60-second commercial from BBH London, the kickoff to a global campaign. In fact, it includes pretty much everything going back to the Big Bang, oh, about 14 billion years ago. The spot, directed by Mexican cinematographer Emmanuel Lubezki (who won three straight Oscars for cinematography between 2013 and 2015, for Gravity, Birdman and The Revenant), opens in black space, except for a pulsating white dot, primed to explode and set the universe—and everything it would encompass—in motion. "It all started one night," says a woman's voiceover at the outset. "A night that felt like it had been night for eternity. When, right out of the darkness, BOOM! An idea. The mother of all ideas." In a flash of light, we're off and traveling through—literally through, as the viewer's perspective races forward—the evolution of the life since that fateful explosion. The voiceover continues to wax poetic about ideas, and how they built on each other, as we see humanity take shape from the apes, eventually leading to the 20th and 21st centuries, and everything humans have accomplished, ever more rapidly, through their creativity. [kickout id="1"] Visually, it's fantastic. Conceptually, it's the kind of approach that means both everything and nothing, the ultimate bird's-eye brand positioning. But if life, the universe and everything isn't a very ownable concept, Absolut does infuse it with a point of view that ties strongly back to the brand—the idea of equality and inclusion as central to human advancement. In other words, not just progress but progressiveness. It's a gospel Absolut has preached for decades, and we get plenty of signposts pointing to it in the chaos of the spot. There are powerful racial and gender images embedded in the piece; there are also nods to political protests and LGBT rights. There's the strong sense, in the end, that diversity and acceptance—saying yes instead of saying no—were the most fruitful ideas at every juncture of history, both before and after our own arrival on the scene. The spot is nicely bookended, too. From the night that brought life, we eventually arrive at nightlife, something else Absolut knows a thing or two about. The glint in the eye of the woman at the end ("You can take it from here," the voiceover assures her) is today's small dot of light, infused with ideas, replicated by the billions across our species, ready to change the world once again (hopefully for the better—though these days, who knows?). In its form, "One Night" is a bit reminiscent of classic spots like AMV's "Noitulove" for Guinness or even BBH's own "Life Is Short" spot for Xbox. The compression of an enormous amount of time into 60 seconds is always fun, and Lubezki's visuals here are endlessly fascinating, and worth plenty of repeat viewings. "Great ideas happen when people get together, more often than not the best of these ideas occur at night," Ian Heartfield, executive creative director at BBH London, said in a statement. "This film is a celebration of the greatest idea that came from a night—the creation of life itself. It is the perfect launch for 'Create A Better Tomorrow, Tonight,' Absolut's celebratory call to arms." That larger campaign is designed, unsurprisingly for Absolut, to celebrate creativity and champion progress. In addition to the "One Night" spot, the campaign launches with five artists (Mickalene Thomas, Toilet Paper Magazine, Olivia Steele, Stevie Gee and RUDE) working on global out-of-home and print ads that bring to life their personal ideas of a better tomorrow. It will also extend to social, with content by photographer Catherine Losing, musician Nakury, illustrator David Luepschen, graphic designers Chrissie Abbott and Tracey Ma and street artists Bambi and Hansky to be showcased across Absolut's social channels. CREDITS The Absolut Company Credits: Anna Malmhake - CEO Craig Johnson - VP Global Marketing Gaia Gilardini - Global Communications Director Sina Neubrandt - Global Marketing Manager Oscar Danielsson - Global Brand Manager Fredrik Thorsen - Global Head of Digital Andrew Rozas - Global PR and Social Media BBH Credits: BBH Executive Creative Director: Ian Heartfield BBH Creative Team: Simon Cenamor & Raymond Chan BBH Producer: Victoria Keenan BBH Assistant Producer: Zaf Choudhury BBH Business Lead: Kate Roberts BBH Account Manager: David White BBH Account Executive: Janki Shah BBH Strategy Director: Melanie Arrow BBH Strategist: Raphael Bittner Production Credits: Production Company: Park Pictures Director: Emmanuel 'Chivo' Lubezki MD: Stephen Brierley Executive Producer (LA): Caroline Kousidonis Executive Producer (London): Sophie Hubble Producer: Nick Goldsmith Post Production: Framestore Creative Director: Andy Rowan Robinson VFX Producer: Charles Howell 2D: Raul Ortego, Sebastien Boulange, Gigi NG, Karch Coon, Nick Tanner 3D: Phil Robinson, Charlotte Bae, Nate Diehl, Georgios Cherouvim, Mohamed Echkouna Design: Callum McKeveny Editing House: Whitehouse Post Editor: Russell Icke Assistant Editor: Greg Hayes & Joe D'Ovidio Producer: Antonia Porter Colour: Company 3 NYC Colourist: Tom Poole Producer: Alex Lubrano Music and Sound: Soundtree Creative Director: Peter Raeburn Music Supervisor: Jay James Sound Designer: Henning Knoepfel Music Editor: Luke Fabia

Ads of the Day

Absolut's Epic New Ad Whizzes Through Time and Space, From the Big Bang to Now

A celebration of creativity and equality

Tim Nudd

About

Subscriptions

Events

Publications

WORK SMARTER - LEARN, GROW AND BE INSPIRED.

Subscribe today!

Tim Nudd