Perrier Just Remade Its Most Famous Ad, 'Lion,' 3 Decades Later

Almost three decades after its spot "Lion," directed by Jean-Paul Goude, stormed the Cannes Lions festival, winning the Grand Prix in Film, Perrier has rolled out a remake of sorts—with everything on an intentionally smaller scale. The original spot, an absolute classic from Ogilvy Paris, featured a woman and a lion fighting over a bottle of Perrier. Created in 1990, it won the top prize at Cannes the following summer. See the spot here: [kickout id="1"] Twenty-eight years later, Ogilvy Paris is still on the Perrier account (after briefly ceding it to Publicis in the mid-1990s). And it just made a "Lion" sequel to advertise Perrier Fines Bulles—a line extension of Perrier that has a different carbonation process resulting in smaller bubbles. And so, everything in the new spot is smaller, too. The woman is now a girl, the lion is now a cub. "Even the music, although intentionally reminiscent of its predecessor, is now smaller sounding," Ogilvy tells us. See the new spot here: [kickout id="2"] The new ad, like the old one, was filmed in South Africa—though by a different director, Johnny Green. "With this new film, we pay homage to the heritage of Perrier," Green says. "We sense moves that remind us of a similar story yet stay surprised and amazed and driven by suspense, until we're rewarded by the iconic remake of the confrontation for the Perrier bottle … of Fines Bulles." Ogilvy Paris tells us the biggest challenge of the production "was to keep the strength of the idea inherent in this mythical movie, which is a true reference in France, while modernizing it, and adding more finesse, in keeping with Perrier Fines Bulles. The styling of the little girl, the re-orchestration of the original music, the calibration, all these details were thought through in updating this classic." The agency said Green "immediately understood the intent. … He was able to bring the needed elegance and sensitivity while respecting the strength of the idea." While Ogilvy hopes, first and foremost, that the spot engages viewers in the brand universe, it wouldn't mind getting a little hardware, too. "We would, of course, be honored to see, 28 years later, this little remake featuring a girl and a cub awarded a little Lion," the agency says. CREDITS Client: Perrier France Global Head of Communication and Strategic Marketing: Marie-Catherine Cerutti Marketing and Category Director: Philippe Gallard France Sparkling Brand director: Laure Goutagnieux France Senior Brand Manager: Baptiste Huchet Agency: Ogilvy Paris Senior Art Director: Alexandra Offe & Julien Bredontiot Senior Copywriter: Julien Bredontiot & Alexandra Offe Head of TV Production: Antoine Bagot TV Producer: Aurélie Appert Sound Producer: Johanne Kenniche Accounts: Diego Feldman, Kévin Martin, Anissa Chabba Strategic Planner: Hadi Zabad Managing Partner, Influence & Réputation: Eric Maillard Director Social Brand PR, Influence & Réputation: Catherine Caussou Account Director, Influence & Réputation: Désirée Ramialison Director: Johnny Green Producer: Jean Villiers Editor: Bandapart Production Director: Gang Films Sound Production: H&O / Circonflex Productions

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Perrier Just Remade Its Most Famous Ad, 'Lion,' 3 Decades Later

The new version of the Cannes Grand Prix winner has littler stars

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