Kissing Is Contagious in Absolut's Lovely First Ad From BBH Celebrating 'Equal Love'

Absolut is a brand with one of the longest, proudest histories of supporting LGBTQ rights. And its first work from BBH, which was named lead global creative agency last fall, celebrates that heritage in style—with a provocative, beautifully choreographed two-minute spot featuring a kissing relay among a variety of diverse people. The spot, directed by Aoife McArdle, is wonderfully set to the 1962 track "There's No Other" by the Crystals, which provides a joyous backdrop and has a throwback quality that nicely communicates the brand's message here—that it's been supporting "equal love" for decades. See the film here: [kickout id="1"] Ian Heartfield, deputy executive creative director at BBH London, told Adweek that the brief was simple: "Tell people what the brand stands for. Make it meaningful, and connect emotionally with a new generation." The BBH creative team of Felipe Guimaraes and Lambros Charalambous said a kiss was the simplest visual metaphor of acceptance they could think of. "Then it was just a matter of working out how we could demonstrate acceptance across a number of social groups," they said. "We discussed various techniques such as match-cutting, but ultimately the relay provided the strongest emotional reaction. It became one kiss shared by all, the ultimate form of acceptance." Casting was obviously a big piece of the puzzle. "As well as the obvious requirement that the cast were happy to kiss the person they were scripted to kiss, we also didn't want to fall into the trap of casting stereotypes, something that would have been very easy to do," Heartfield said. "This had to be authentic. We wanted believable, open-minded, interesting characters that were straight off of the streets of this real, crazy, beautiful, mixed-up world we live in." McArdle, the director, added: "I love the process of casting, and this script provided an opportunity to work with a large, diverse and striking cast. Because of the message of the film, and Absolut's history of supporting LGBTQ and diversity in general in their marketing, this process was front and center rather than a branding afterthought. Andy Warhol has done work on Absolut, as have Keith Haring and Tom Ford. It's great to work within this tradition, push boundaries and experiment on film." The choreography was also a key challenge. The idea of one long, seamless, flowing kiss was on the page from day one, Heartfield said. "Aoife was the director who embraced it the most enthusiastically," he added. "Her own warm, collaborative style of directing enabled her to work intimately with the cast, rehearsing the dance like moves with each of them one on one." Then there's the great song. "First and foremost it was chosen because it makes you smile from the moment it kicks in," said Heartfield. "It's just a perfect fit in terms of atmosphere and lyrical relevance. But secondly, yes, a nod to the brand's past was intentional, too. This is a brand with such a great legacy of being brave and open minded, it would have been rude not to." CREDITS Client: Absolut Anna Malmhake, CEO Craig Johnson, VP Global Marketing Gaia Gilardini, Global Brand Director Sina Neubrandt, Global Marketing Manager Oscar Danielsson, Global Brand Manager Fredrik Thorsén, Head of Digital Marketing Agency: BBH London Creative Team: Felipe Guimaraes & Lambros Charalambous Creative Director: Ian Heartfield, Paco Conde, Beto Fernandez Deputy ECD: Ian Heartfield Strategist: Raphael Bittner Strategy Director: Melanie Arrow Business Lead: Kate Roberts Senior Account Manager: Aymara Blanco Account Executive: Janki Shah Producer: Victoria Keenan Assistant Producer: Zaf Choudhury Production Company: Somesuch Director: Aoife McArdle Executive Producer: Lou Hake Producer: James Waters DoP: Tom Townend Post Production: MPC Editor/Editing House: Final Cut Sound: String & Tins

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Kissing Is Contagious in Absolut's Lovely First Ad From BBH Celebrating 'Equal Love'

Intricately choreographed number timed to London Pride

Tim Nudd

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Tim Nudd