Actress Tessa Thompson, C-Pop star Jolin Tsai, pro gamer Ricki Ortiz + musician MNEK star in new global Absolut campaign created by BBH Singapore

In a major new global campaign BBH Singapore has launched Absolut’s new brand platform titled ‘It’s In Our Spirit’.  The campaign looks forward to a time when being together is safe again and reminds Gen Z and millennials that no matter how popular you are online, nothing can replace real human connections.

The ambitious Absolut global campaign, features four talents of diverse backgrounds who all champion open and honest conversation: Tessa Thompson (American actress), MNEK (British musician), Ricki Ortiz (online gaming star), and Jolin Tsai, (Taiwanese singer).

The multimedia campaign features a vast swathe of social and online content, including a two-minute film that mixes animation with live action. It’s a story of 4 protagonists who are masters of their own virtual worlds, looking for something more meaningful outside. So they decide to break out from virtuality – because no matter how many followers or hearts you collect, nothing can make up for real-life togetherness.

Tad Greenough, Chief Creative Officer at The Absolut Company, said: “This new campaign marks the beginning of a new chapter for the Absolut brand. The desire and need to break free – to venture beyond the screen back into the real world, where real-life togetherness creates the ultimate and most intimate connectivity – is in all of us now, but especially in Gen Z. With its strikingly fresh and original visual look and the ‘It’s In Our Spirit’ theme, BBH Singapore’s work positions the Absolut brand as being truly at one with the times.”

The film was brought to life through the inspiring vision of the Grand-Prix winning animation duo and partners at Psyop, Todd and Kylie. BBH also worked with Stink and The Marketing Arm (TMA) on the campaign who were instrumental in procuring and contracting all of the talent, as well as licensing the music track for the film – Dreams Today by Efterklang, a Danish band.

“Absolut is a bold creative brand. With a long and proud heritage of working with some of the world’s best artists, creativity is central to who we are and what we do. This is why creative innovation, craft and the fine balancing act needed to bring great ideas to life in the most powerful way were key priorities for us.” said Sina Neubrandt, Head of Brand Creative. “Managing such a complex production remotely across multiple time zones was challenging, but we are all very proud of the finished product.”

BBH Creative Directors Nikhil Panjwani and Gaston Soto, said: “Having grown up with Absolut posters on our bedroom walls, the opportunity to relaunch this iconic brand is a dream come true. The new platform of #togetherIRL feels highly relatable with a hyper-connected, yet disconnected Gen Z. And in times like these, it makes us truly appreciate the importance of simple things, like sharing a drink with a friend.”

TMA Senior Vice President Mick Carter, said: “Working with brands that put their marketing dollars behind their philosophy is always a pleasure. Absolut has championed diversity for decades and this campaign stays in that vein. TMA are proud to have been a key part of bringing the campaign together across multiple markets and with such stand-out talent.”

The campaign kicks off this week with a staggered launch across the UK, China, Germany, Italy, Spain, Sweden, Ireland, Netherlands, Romania, Thailand, Morocco, Serbia, Hong Kong and South Africa. Next year, the campaign will roll out to Brazil, Mexico, South Korea, the Persian Gulf, SSA, Chile, Greece, Croatia, Latvia and Colombia.

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Credits
The Absolut Company
VP Marketing: Charl Bassil
Chief Creative Officer: Tad Greenough
Head of Brand Creative: Sina Neubrandt
Marketing Manager: Filip Kiisk
Senior Brand Manager: Ylva Lundberg
Brand Managers: Maxime Henain, Oscar Danielsson, Hedda Helgesen
BBH
Global Leadership: Joakim (jab) Borgstrom, Adam Arnold
Singapore Leadership: Sascha Kuntze, Sid Tuli
Creative Directors: Gaston Soto, Nikhil Panjwani
Creatives: Stephanie Gwee, Sid Lim, Avril Chua
Business Leadership: Lynette Chua, Grace Lee, Alicia Tiong, Paisley Wright, Fran Suffling, Marina Atanassova, Lauren Gillies
Strategy: Lilli English, Faraaz Marghoob, Aarohi Dhir
Production: Wendi Chong, Wendi Chong, Wendi Chong
Black Sheep Studio: Eddie Jackson, Sally Liu, Eva Loo, Sok Wah Leow, Lee Adamson, Christopher Leow, Pang Wei Fong, Tammy Quah
PSYOP
Directors: Todd Mueller and Kylie Matulick
Producers: Justin Booth-Clibborn, Joe Maggiore, My Linh Truong, Noah Goldsmith, Andrea Panda, Michael Schlenker
Stink
Andrew Levene, Fran Thompson, Kelly Brown
The Marketing Arm
Mick Carter (Manchester), Sorcha Collister (London), Valerie Holmes (Chicago), Maggie Qu (Shanghai), David Wales (Dallas)
Photographers
GL Askew II, Conor McDonnell, Sean Marc Lee
Production Partners
Bauie Productions (LA), Butter Music + Sound (LA), Episode Films (Taipei), Fuse Adventures in Audio (Singapore), Illusion CGI Studio (Bangkok)