Title	EACH DROP OF HENNESSY X.O IS AN ODYSSEY
Brand	HENNESSY
Product/Service	HENNESSY X.O
Category	A11. Digital & Mobile Brand Experience
Entrant	DDB PARIS, FRANCE
Idea Creation	DDB PARIS, FRANCE
Production	STINK Paris, FRANCE
Additional Company	THE Paris, FRANCE

Name	Company	Position
Alexander Kalchev	DDB Paris	Executive Creative Director
Alexis Benbehe	DDB Paris	Creative
Pierre Mathonat	DDB Paris	Creative
Xavier Mendiola	DDB Paris	Agency Supervisor
Marine Hakim	DDB Paris	Agency Supervisor
Jessica Ferris	DDB Paris	Agency Supervisor
Thomas Moradpour	Hennessy	Advertiser's Supervisor
Antoine Varlet	Hennessy	Advertiser's Supervisor
Aurelie Lim	Hennessy	Advertiser's Supervisor
Khoa Dodinh	Hennessy	Advertiser's Supervisor
Sophie Mégrous	DDB Paris	Head of TV
Martin Mangez	DDB Paris	Planner
Greg Panteix	Stink	Executive Producer
Juliet Naylor	Stink	Producer
Nicolas Winding Refn	Stink	Director
Natasha Braier	Stink	DoP
Joseph Bennet	Stink	Production Designer
Matt Newman	Stink	Editor
Cliff Martinez	-	Composer
Guillaume Raffi	Nightshift	VFX producer
Adrien Servadio	Nightshift	Flame Artist
Dan Tobin Smith	-	Photographer
Stephan Wever	Stink	Director VR experience
Sophie Gaaloul	Stink	Executive Producer VR experience

The Campaign

To demonstrate the depth and uniqueness of Hennessy X.O. we wrote an oneiric movie that aims to show in a metaphoric and symbolic way its taste. We decided to visualise how it tastes through seven chapters that define the succession of flavours you will experience. But instead of doing a classical film that is based on logic, we collaborated with Palme d’or winning director Nicolas Winding Refn to imagine a movie as mystical and impactful as the blend of the cognac. Thus we created a film which goes beyond the codes of traditional luxury and breaks away from classical elegance, expressing instead in a modern way the depth and uniqueness of the X.O. blend.

Creative Execution

The campaign was released at the same time all around the world : the third of march. Film by Nicolas Winding Refn : TV, Youtube, Facebook, Twitter, Hennessy website, Wechat, Youku. 7 Prints: Magazines, standard outdoor and animated prints in airports all over the world. 360°: Virtual reality experiment and 360 Making-off. Consumers were invited to live the Virtual Odyssey inspired by the universe of the film in 16 airports. These 360 films were released through an iOs and Android app, and on Samsung Gear VR market. 7 Limited edition packaging based on the 7 Prints. A minisite. A banner campaign based on the animated prints and the film.

The film has been viewed 25.000.000 times, becoming the most viewed luxury ad of the year (source?: Google and Youtube marketing analytics) 80% of positive reviews?; 18% extremely positive (source?: Added Value, qualitative research & new brand campaign analysis) Media impression worldwide?: 220.000.000 Earned media?: 28.400.000

During the creative process of the Hennessy X.O campaign, the director received “the keys of the kingdom” to create a piece of art. The director himself considers it as a part of his filmography. He truly involved his crew into the project, such as the editor of Drive or music composer Cliff Martinez. He also involved himself during the launch of the campaign, giving interviews all over the world to promote it. The visionary film that he directed has been declined through several digital experiments such as a 360 making-of and a three minutes VR experiment.

Because of its price and apparent complexity, Hennessy X.O is intimidating and perceived by most as a spirit reserved to experts. Our audience is the well-off whisky drinker who may be attracted by cognac’s sophistication, but still hesitates to enter this new world. To modernise and democratize Hennessy X.O we decided to illustrate its taste in an unexpected and visionary way. Through seven chapters, you could discover the succession of flavours you experience when you drink it.