Since 2014, gin brand Hendrick’s have been running a series of intricate, Monty Python-style cut out animated adverts playing on their obscure and eccentric identity. Although the company was only established in 1999, the campaign’s nod to Victorian nostalgia gives the impression of a brand steeped in tradition.
In this 2015 video entitled ‘A Moving Picture’, they offer the viewer ‘an invitation to open your mind and awaken to the peculiar.’ The camera is continuously panning out for the entire 30-seconds clip, beginning in the eye of a fish and slowly moving through a range of bizarre scenes, from a gentleman with fangs wearing an eyepatch and sipping from a cocktail glass to a mermaid inside a crystal ball on a table of mismatched Victorian characters.
The female voiceover, telling us to open our minds wide, is reminiscent of early British broadcasting.
This animated advert is so effective because it bravely decides to own the fact that Hendrick’s Gin can be an acquired taste. They are more than aware that a small number of people love them rather than many merely liking them. As they put it themselves: ‘Loved by a tiny handful of people all over the world.’
With odd flavours such as cucumber and rose petal, it pays for Hendrick’s Gin to appeal to the mature yet experimental side in us. So, it’s no wonder the campaign still continues 4 years after it began, showing just how effective it has been.
Key Learning Points
Could your product or service benefit from making such a bold move? Perhaps its appeal is that it’s not universally appealing? If so, taking the blunt approach in a playful way could really win you a dedicated customer base.