THE SEVEN WORLDS

TitleTHE SEVEN WORLDS
BrandHENNESSY
Product/ServiceX.O
Category A01. Fiction & Non-Fiction Films up to 5 minutes
Entrant DDB PARIS, FRANCE
Idea Creation DDB PARIS, FRANCE
Production RSA FILMS London, UNITED KINGDOM
Production 2 MPC LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM
Production 3 THE Paris, FRANCE
Production 4 GRAND CENTRAL RECORDING STUDIOS London, UNITED KINGDOM
Credits
Name Company Position
Alexander Kalchev DDB Paris Executive Creative Director
Pierre Mathonat DDB Paris Creative Director
Alexis Benbehe DDB Paris Creative Director
Xavier Mendiola DDB Paris Managing Director
Petya Borisova DDB Paris Account Director
Emilie van Den Berghe DDB Paris Account Director
Sébastien GENTY DDB Paris Managing Director
Geraldine Tixier DDB Paris Planner
Quentin Moenne-Loccoz DDB Paris Agency Producer
Thomas Moradpour Hennessy Advertiser Supervisor
Michael Aidan Hennessy Advertiser Supervisor
Antoine Varlet Hennessy Advertiser Supervisor
Emmy Aoun Gestin Hennessy Advertiser Supervisor
Debbie Garvey RSA Producer
Ridley Scott RSA Director
Jérôme Alquier THE Music Supervisor
Daniel Pemberton - Composer

Why is this work relevant for Entertainment?

In the world of spirit dinks the communication landscape is so busy, that we had to change the way we talk about the Hennessy X.O cognac. We wanted to represent its seven tasting notes as an immersive sensorial, sci-fi odyssey. Not show how you have to drink but offer a pure piece of entertainment in the form of a 4 min short film, that could have been a trailer of a feature film.

Background

Although Hennessy X.O is a leader in the cognac category, the drink itself is still behind whiskey and vodka for example. It is a perceived as old fashioned and the younger people do not relate to it. We had to modernize the brand perception, as well as raise awareness around the brand and also the unique product experience.

Describe the creative idea

Hennessy X.O is one of the world's most prized cognac blends, with its rich and unique taste. A taste made of seven tasting notes. The Seven Worlds is a 4-minute film that embarks viewers on a visual odyssey of the senses. Each chapter is a world that visually represents a note in a surreal, sensorial and science-fiction narrative. Each world is brought to life through wondrous and surprising metaphors. From mysterious miners gathering shimmering golden liquid, human figures walking in the shadows of giants, A.I coming to life through spicy synapses, beings gliding through a fiery atmosphere, through a man meditating amongst levitating chocolate rocks, as a wooden golem is transformed by a flock of birds, each note is brought to life in a beautiful and poetic way. The climax of the film is an omnipresent nebula, representing the blend of Hennessy X.O, which holds those marvelous worlds together.

Describe the strategy

We wanted to address people through an immersive, breathtaking, surprising images and invite them on a space journey. Yet the whole experience had to be very sensorial and illustrate the tasting qualities of the cognac, which has 7 distinctive tasting notes (Sweet notes, Rising Heat, Spicy Edge, Flowing Flame, Chocolate Lull, Wood Crunches, Infinite Echo).

Describe the execution

The 4 min film was launched on February 11th on Hennessy digital channels(Youtube and Facebook). A 60 sec cut was aired during the 91st Academy Awards ceremony. US and China will run the 4 min film in a selected number of cinemas.

Describe the outcome

The 4 min short film has been released on 11th of February on Hennessy digital channels (mainly YouTube). Within the first couple of days of the launch, the campaign had 2M views, 80% of which being organic. Current total number of views - 27M 51.42% completion rate, 2,9K publications since the launch 11/02 (including retweets & Stories from US Influencers Nas/4,8M followers, Asap Ferg/2,9M Followers , Canelo Alvarez/4,4M Followers) A 60 sec cut of the film was aired during the 91st Academy Awards ceremony and the major response of the public on social media was extremely positive, saying that the ad should have won an Oscar itself.