Sazerac: The Spritz
Overview
Our friends over at Sazerac were launching a brand-new product—The Spritz, a ready-to-drink Aperol Spritz in three distinct flavors—and needed a TV campaign to support. We were at the ready, and signed on to concept, execute, and post-produce the spot.
Process
We loved this project from the get-go. Inspired by the illustrated imagery that was already in place from the brand, we wanted to combine live-action and illustrated elements. We structured the spot around the idea that, once you pop open a bottle of The Spritz, you feel as if you are whisked away to some idyllic Italian Riviera landscape.
We broke that transformation down visually by animating certain elements of the frame around the bottle, eventually spreading around the entire party and covering it in illustrated splendor.
It was very important to us that we did this “by hand”, so to speak. That is to say that the illustrations should not look like VFX or CGI, but that they were hand-drawn by an artist. The concept required lots of careful rotoscoping to isolate the various elements that became drawn from the rest of the shot. We then designed a magical-looking transition that spread the animated effect across the screen.
This transformation starts small. We establish our lead character as the hostess extraordinaire of a tasteful garden party. Confidently declaring to herself that “this will not be last year’s party…”, she struts through the grounds and heads for the cooler, choosing a Traditional The Spritz and popping it open. As soon as she pours it into her glass, our magical animated energy leaps to life, first just affecting the bottle and her arms, then her entire body, and then spreading outward towards other guests.
Through this, we’re introduced to the two other flavors, Limone and Hugo, as embodied by actors in yellow and purple wardrobe. By the time we’ve met all our flavors, the entire screen has become fully animated.
Results
Once we’re in the fully animated world, we decided we could do away with reality- this is the “whisked away” bit. Through the reflections in her sunglasses, we see our world completely shift to the Italian Riviera. She’s standing with her two friends Hugo and Limone, in beautiful, hand-drawn illustration and animation.
To further drive this home, we created an Italian- inspired music track that mixed a romantic swoon of being somewhere in Italy or France with more modern elements. It all works together to transport the viewer along with our onscreen characters, and make them want to reach for The Spritz.
This project produced a :30 TV spot and multiple social media assets within a 1-day shoot.
Bothership was responsible for the concept, creative treatment, production, execution, and post-production of the spot.
We look forward to collaborating with Sazerac in the future, and to perhaps support your brand with your next big product launch.
