Situation:

With Gin making big strides within the market, vodka has become less appealing in South Africa and globally so Smirnoff needs to reignite brand love in the brand and in the product.

Brief:

Create a global TV commercial for the local South African Distilled Smirnoff 1818, reinforcing the taste and smooth intrinsic of the product.

Objectives:

Drive the message of the intrinsic of the brand while maintaining the brand's presence in music and youth culture in a creative and compelling way.

Inspired by musical trailblazers, Digable Planets Iconic Hip Hop Hit Single, ‘Rebirth of Slick’, (Cool Like That) we created the smoothest commercial ever.

In collaboration with award-winning South African rap GOAT, Stogie T, we remixed the track, adding our own South African flavour and Smoot Attitude, infusing Hip-Hop and Kwaito, and the ‘Rebirth of Smooth’ was born.

Our clever use of copy, allowed us to reimagine the lyrics to not only speak to the intrinsics of Smirnoff 1818's smooth taste but to the extrinsic aspects of what it really means to be smooth like that, highlighting and capturing the brand’s Swagger and essence in the smoothest way possible, reinforcing why Smirnoff is still the #1 Smooth Original vodka spirit in South Africa and the World.

With Gin making big strides within the market, Diageo South Africa in collaboration with its New York Global Team tasked us to create a global TV commercial for the local South African Distilled Smirnoff 1818, reinforcing the taste and smooth intrinsic of the product.

So, we decided that the brand needed a refresh… or rather a “Rebirth”.

Inspired by musical trailblazers, Digable Planets Iconic Hip Hop Hit Single, ‘Rebirth of Slick’, (Cool Like That) we created the smoothest commercial ever.

In collaboration with award-winning South African rap GOAT, Stogie T (an artist who's also known as one of Africa's finest hip-hop export), we remixed the track, adding our own South African flavor and Smoot Attitude, infusing Hip-Hop and Kwaito, and the ‘Rebirth of Smooth’ was born.

We replayed all the instruments to give the song a refreshed, live, sound, creating points of transition from hip-hop to kwaito - adding sonic elements that resonate with youth, showing how the brand is at the pulse of what's current locally, whilst still paying homage to what's iconic - something Smirnoff is known for globally.

Our clever use of copy, allowed us to reimagine the lyrics to not only speak to the intrinsics of Smirnoff's 1818 smooth taste but to the extrinsic aspect of what it really means to be smooth like that, highlighting and capturing the brand’s Swagger and essence in the smoothest way possible, reinforcing why Smirnoff is still the #1 Smooth Original vodka spirit in South Africa and the World.