All day long, poor Mona Lisa just watches as throngs of tourists crowd around to take photo after photo. Her visitors then get to leave and go experience everything else life has to offer, but Mona is stuck in a sterile gallery hall for the rest of the night.
In Perrier’s new international campaign, “The Extraordinaire Mona Lisa,” however, she finally comes to life—and quickly becomes the life of the party across Paris.
After the crowds leave The Louvre for the day, she escapes her frame to grab a bottle of Perrier someone left behind. Invigorated by the beverage, she quickly escapes the confines of The Louvre to discover the variety of experiences offered by modern life.
Yes, the commercial requires some suspension of disbelief, especially from museum sticklers. Neither flash photography nor bottles of Perrier are allowed around Mona Lisa, but hey, it’s an ad about a 516-year-old painting coming to life, so take it all with a grain de sel.
Set to Duke Ellington’s classic “Caravan,” the spot follows Mona Lisa as she discovers everything from jump rope to modern fashion, eventually even learning she’s not a fan of hot peppers.
The spot was created by Rosapark, Adweek’s International Agency of the Year for 2018, and directed by Manu Cossu, one of the directors behind the “Hot Air Balloons” spot launching Perrier’s “Extraordinaire Perrier” brand platform in 2015, as well as Adidas’ “Original Is Never Finished” and “Dior Miss Dior.”
“The Extraordinaire Mona Lisa” will run on broadcast, digital and social media with formats adapted to each platform, including 6-, 10-, 20- and 30-second adaptations of the full-length ad.
“With Perrier, we really wanted to transform an icon of classicism into a muse of pop culture. Perrier is a ‘classic,’ but it’s also very contemporary. We wanted to mix up the relationship we all have with the Mona Lisa,” says Rosapark co-founder and CCO Gilles Fichteberg. “We’re not the ones who’ve been looking at her all this time. She’s actually the one who’s been watching us, and now she’s decided to come out and show us that everyone, in their own way, can have a positive impact on the world.”
It has been a busy May for Rosapark. Earlier in this month, the agency released a new “Hesitation Is No Longer an Option” ad for Volkswagen-owned Škoda, which follows last year’s humorously self-deprecating “Ugly in the ’90s” spot, and looked back at “Humanity’s First Queue” for French grocery chain Monoprix. (Last year the agency created “The Worst Song in the World” for the grocer.)
CREDITS:
Advertiser: Perrier
Advertiser team: Henrik Gotterbarm, Sophie Dubois, Thomas Ludsteck, Philippe Gallard, Marion Taisne, Émilie Grandin, Paul Cordina, Océane Mellano
Agency: Rosapark
Agency Co-founders: Jean-Patrick Chiquiar, Gilles Fichteberg and Jean-François Sacco
Copywriters: Julien Moulin, Pierre-Antoine Dupin
Art Directors: Antoine Blondet, Frederic Leclerc, Sophian Bouadjera
General manager and Head of strategy: Sacha Lacroix
Group account Director: Virginie Matias
Account manager: Charlotte Permasse
Development team: Laurène Chabrol, Victor Faubert
Strategic planner: Alexandre Ribichesu
Head of Digital: Jeanne Neuschwander
Agency Producer: Thomas Laurent
Art buyer : Louise Bertin
Print Production: Justine Dudognon, Delphine Cotellon
Public Relations: Mélanie Colléou
Production consulting : PRECIOUS
Charlotte Delord, Géraldine Lamamy
Production: ICONOCLAST
Director: Manu Cossu
Producer: Jean Duhamel
Line Producer: Annabel Rosier
First Assistant Director: Frederic Monnet
DOP: Mathias Boucard
Set designer: Arno Roth
Stylist: Laura Tunon Mendez
Executive Producer: Nick Page
Postproduction: MACHINE MOLLE
Postproducer: Cyril Bordesoulle, Marine Ligouzat
Editor: Nicolas Larouquère & Philippe Roch
Grading: Mathieu Caplanne
Sound Production: SCHMOOZE
Sound Producer: Matthieu Sibony, Grégoire Galian
Sound Engineer: Sylvain Rety
Music Introduction: Sanjiv Sen
