Cannes Lions
DDB PARIS / HENNESSY / 2019
Awards:
Overview
Entries
Credits
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 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. Because you don’t compete with the most famous names of whiskey by telling people how cognac is made in which barrel or in what cave, or how it represents a social status to drink it because of its price. You have to blow their minds.
Idea
Hennessy X.O is one of the world's most prized cognac blends, with a rich and unique taste made of seven tasting notes.
The Seven Worlds is a 4-minute film that embarks viewers on a visual odyssey of 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 into a tree 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.
Strategy
We wanted to address people through immersive, breathtaking, surprising images and invite them on a journey through taste. Or more exactly, what a journey through taste could look like if it was told like a space journey. With epic scale and meaningful universes. So 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).
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.
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 - 88M
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.
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