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Sea (Smirnoff)
Encyclopedia
Sea is an advertising campaign
launched by Diageo
in 2007 to promote Smirnoff
brand vodka
. It centres around a 60-second
commercial
created by JWT
, which premiered on 17 August 2007 in showings of The Bourne Ultimatum
at selected cinemas across the United Kingdom
. Various tie-ins were launched, including the "Smirnoff Purifier", an online game, point of sale
"Smirnoff purity kits", and a tour of a custom-built "Smirnoff Purification Installation" used to make potable samples of water taken from saline
or otherwise undrinkable water at selected sites. In all, the campaign cost £
5,000,000 to create, making it the largest campaign ever taken on by Diageo for its Smirnoff brand.
, took place over seven months. The filming of the commercial took place over a period of several weeks in February 2007, primarily in the Coromandel Peninsula
of New Zealand
, with additional filming at the white cliffs of Dover
and Auckland harbour
. The director chosen to oversee the piece was Daniel Kleinman
, known for his previous work on James Bond
title sequence
s and adverts for Levi's and Durex
.
The sequence begins with a shot of a crewman on a fishing trawler discarding a beverage can
overboard, only to have the sea throw it back on board. A montage of scenes commences, showing a number of onlookers, including offshore divers, a helicopter
pilot, and workers at an oil platform
and a petrol station
, staring in amazement as the sea disgorges vast quantities of appliances, rubble, and wrecks ranging from coin
s to Spitfire
s, Lancaster bomber
s, a Scandinavia
n longship
and a simulacrum of the Colossus of Rhodes
, accompanied by a Latin
ate chant composed by Peter Raeburn
& Nick Foster
of Soundtree Music. The advert closes with the straplines "Ten Times Filtered", "Triple Distilled" and "Clearly Smirnoff" appearing over a tracking shot
across the now pristine ocean floor, to a bottle of Smirnoff vodka.
The VFX and other post production work were handled by Framestore CFC
, and were created using a variety of programs, including Houdini
and Flame. Since at the time of filming, the sea around Auckland harbour used in the shots of the North Sea oil rig
was unsuitably quiescent, the group made use of techniques developed for their earlier work on Superman Returns
to produce the stormy seas that appear in the final cut.
The piece was first aired in selected cinemas prior to screenings of The Bourne Ultimatum
from 17 August 2007. This was followed three days later by appearances on national British television.
An extended version of Peter Raeburns's soundtrack to the ad, named 'Celebrare', was commercially released on July 14 2008, accompanied by remixes by UK DJs Layo and Bushwacka!.
were brought on by the creators to design the online elements of the campaign which would appear as teaser
s prior to the screening of the commercial. Keeping in line with the central themes of the sea and of purification, AKQA constructed the "Smirnoff Purifier". The Purifier was a hydraulic cannon
attached to a platform off the southern coast of England. The cannon was used to launch a number of objects including refrigerator
s, washing machine
s, and caravan
s back ashore. The footage taken of the launches was then integrated into an online game on the Smirnoff website, where users would choose how much pressure to fire the objects with. Those who successfully landed all of the pieces onto a target on the beach could enter a prize draw to win a year's supply of Smirnoff vodka.
samples of water
for members of the public who approached the operators. The installation was first tested publicly using water on the (River Thames
), in London, followed by the Water of Leith in Edinburgh in 2005. The installation then went to The Philippines in 2006, to purify water from the Marikina River
. Sites in the United Kingdom visited by the installation this year to coincide with the commercial include Blackpool
(Irish Sea
), Portsmouth, Bristol and Newquay
(Atlantic Ocean
).
When water is placed into the plant, it passes through a series of sediment
filters, is chlorinated
, and then re-filtered. It then travels through a reverse osmosis
system, is subjected to ultraviolet
light, and is tested on-site by approved laboratory staff to ensure its potability. Finally, the water is run through activated charcoal in the same manner as Smirnoff vodka before being presented to the public for consumption.
kits focusing on promoting the "purity" of Smirnoff vodka and presenting a number of serving suggestions. The kit includes a training CD with demonstrations of Smirnoff serves, as well as branded ice buckets, bar runners, poster
s and drip mats.
Advertising campaign
An advertising campaign is a series of advertisement messages that share a single idea and theme which make up an integrated marketing communication...
launched by Diageo
Diageo
Diageo plc is a global alcoholic beverages company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the world's largest producer of spirits and a major producer of beer and wine....
in 2007 to promote Smirnoff
Smirnoff
Smirnoff is a brand of vodka owned and produced by the British company Diageo. The Smirnoff brand began with a vodka distillery founded in Moscow by Pyotr Arsenievich Smirnov , the son of illiterate Russian peasants. It is now distributed in 130 countries.Smirnoff products include vodka, flavored...
brand vodka
Vodka
Vodka , is a distilled beverage. It is composed primarily of water and ethanol with traces of impurities and flavorings. Vodka is made by the distillation of fermented substances such as grains, potatoes, or sometimes fruits....
. It centres around a 60-second
Second
The second is a unit of measurement of time, and is the International System of Units base unit of time. It may be measured using a clock....
commercial
Television advertisement
A television advertisement or television commercial, often just commercial, advert, ad, or ad-film – is a span of television programming produced and paid for by an organization that conveys a message, typically one intended to market a product...
created by JWT
JWT
JWT is one of the largest advertising agencies in the United States and the fourth-largest in the world. It is one of the key companies of Sir Martin Sorrell's WPP Group and is headquartered in New York. The global agency is led by Worldwide Chairman and Global CEO Bob Jeffrey who took over the...
, which premiered on 17 August 2007 in showings of The Bourne Ultimatum
The Bourne Ultimatum (film)
The Bourne Ultimatum is a 2007 American spy film directed by Paul Greengrass and loosely based on the Robert Ludlum novel of the same title. This film is the third in the Bourne film series, being preceded by The Bourne Identity and The Bourne Supremacy...
at selected cinemas across the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
. Various tie-ins were launched, including the "Smirnoff Purifier", an online game, point of sale
Point of sale
Point of sale or checkout is the location where a transaction occurs...
"Smirnoff purity kits", and a tour of a custom-built "Smirnoff Purification Installation" used to make potable samples of water taken from saline
Saline water
Saline water is a general term for water that contains a significant concentration of dissolved salts . The concentration is usually expressed in parts per million of salt....
or otherwise undrinkable water at selected sites. In all, the campaign cost £
Pound sterling
The pound sterling , commonly called the pound, is the official currency of the United Kingdom, its Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, British Antarctic Territory and Tristan da Cunha. It is subdivided into 100 pence...
5,000,000 to create, making it the largest campaign ever taken on by Diageo for its Smirnoff brand.
Commercial
Production of the sixty second commercial, developed by JWTJWT
JWT is one of the largest advertising agencies in the United States and the fourth-largest in the world. It is one of the key companies of Sir Martin Sorrell's WPP Group and is headquartered in New York. The global agency is led by Worldwide Chairman and Global CEO Bob Jeffrey who took over the...
, took place over seven months. The filming of the commercial took place over a period of several weeks in February 2007, primarily in the Coromandel Peninsula
Coromandel Peninsula
The Coromandel Peninsula lies in the North Island of New Zealand. It is part of the Waikato Region and Thames-Coromandel District and extends 85 kilometres north from the western end of the Bay of Plenty, forming a natural barrier to protect the Hauraki Gulf and the Firth of Thames in the west...
of New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
, with additional filming at the white cliffs of Dover
White cliffs of Dover
The White Cliffs of Dover are cliffs which form part of the British coastline facing the Strait of Dover and France. The cliffs are part of the North Downs formation. The cliff face, which reaches up to , owes its striking façade to its composition of chalk accentuated by streaks of black flint...
and Auckland harbour
Waitemata Harbour
The quite famous Waitemata Harbour is the main access by sea to Auckland, New Zealand. For this reason it is often referred to as Auckland Harbour, despite the fact that it is only one of two harbours surrounding the city, and is crossed by the Auckland Harbour Bridge. The Waitemata forms the north...
. The director chosen to oversee the piece was Daniel Kleinman
Daniel Kleinman
Daniel Kleinman is a British television commercial and music video director who was title sequence designer for the James Bond series of films from 1995's GoldenEye until he was replaced by MK12 for 2008's Quantum of Solace....
, known for his previous work on James Bond
James Bond
James Bond, code name 007, is a fictional character created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short story collections. There have been a six other authors who wrote authorised Bond novels or novelizations after Fleming's death in 1964: Kingsley Amis,...
title sequence
Title sequence
A Title Sequence is the method by which cinematic films or television programs present their title, key production and cast members, or both, utilizing conceptual visuals and sound...
s and adverts for Levi's and Durex
Durex
Durex is the trademarked name for a range of condoms that used to be made by British company SSL International. This company was sold to Reckitt Benckiser in July 2010....
.
The sequence begins with a shot of a crewman on a fishing trawler discarding a beverage can
Beverage can
A beverage can is a tin can designed to hold a specific portion of a beverage. Beverage cans are made of tin-plated steel or aluminium.- History :...
overboard, only to have the sea throw it back on board. A montage of scenes commences, showing a number of onlookers, including offshore divers, a helicopter
Helicopter
A helicopter is a type of rotorcraft in which lift and thrust are supplied by one or more engine-driven rotors. This allows the helicopter to take off and land vertically, to hover, and to fly forwards, backwards, and laterally...
pilot, and workers at an oil platform
Oil platform
An oil platform, also referred to as an offshore platform or, somewhat incorrectly, oil rig, is a lаrge structure with facilities to drill wells, to extract and process oil and natural gas, and to temporarily store product until it can be brought to shore for refining and marketing...
and a petrol station
Filling station
A filling station, also known as a fueling station, garage, gasbar , gas station , petrol bunk , petrol pump , petrol garage, petrol kiosk , petrol station "'servo"' in Australia or service station, is a facility which sells fuel and lubricants...
, staring in amazement as the sea disgorges vast quantities of appliances, rubble, and wrecks ranging from coin
Coin
A coin is a piece of hard material that is standardized in weight, is produced in large quantities in order to facilitate trade, and primarily can be used as a legal tender token for commerce in the designated country, region, or territory....
s to Spitfire
Supermarine Spitfire
The Supermarine Spitfire is a British single-seat fighter aircraft that was used by the Royal Air Force and many other Allied countries throughout the Second World War. The Spitfire continued to be used as a front line fighter and in secondary roles into the 1950s...
s, Lancaster bomber
Avro Lancaster
The Avro Lancaster is a British four-engined Second World War heavy bomber made initially by Avro for the Royal Air Force . It first saw active service in 1942, and together with the Handley Page Halifax it was one of the main heavy bombers of the RAF, the RCAF, and squadrons from other...
s, a Scandinavia
Scandinavia
Scandinavia is a cultural, historical and ethno-linguistic region in northern Europe that includes the three kingdoms of Denmark, Norway and Sweden, characterized by their common ethno-cultural heritage and language. Modern Norway and Sweden proper are situated on the Scandinavian Peninsula,...
n longship
Longship
Longships were sea vessels made and used by the Vikings from the Nordic countries for trade, commerce, exploration, and warfare during the Viking Age. The longship’s design evolved over many years, beginning in the Stone Age with the invention of the umiak and continuing up to the 9th century with...
and a simulacrum of the Colossus of Rhodes
Colossus of Rhodes
The Colossus of Rhodes was a statue of the Greek Titan Helios, erected in the city of Rhodes on the Greek island of Rhodes by Chares of Lindos between 292 and 280 BC. It is considered one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. It was constructed to celebrate Rhodes' victory over the ruler of...
, accompanied by a Latin
Latin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
ate chant composed by Peter Raeburn
Peter Raeburn
Peter Raeburn is an award-winning London based musician known for his work in TV commercials and films.He was born in Johannesburg, South Africa, and shortly after the family moved to London, where he was raised. His paternal grandfather was an opera singer and music was a part of his family life...
& Nick Foster
Nick Foster
Nick Foster is a BAFTA-winning British TV composer and music producer who has worked extensively over the past fifteen years. Originally best known for his work as part of production team Rose and Foster, he now composes music for television shows such as Derren Brown - The Events , and The Cube ,...
of Soundtree Music. The advert closes with the straplines "Ten Times Filtered", "Triple Distilled" and "Clearly Smirnoff" appearing over a tracking shot
Tracking shot
In motion picture terminology, a tracking shot is a segment in which the camera is mounted on a camera dolly, a wheeled platform that is pushed on rails while the picture is being taken...
across the now pristine ocean floor, to a bottle of Smirnoff vodka.
The VFX and other post production work were handled by Framestore CFC
Framestore CFC
Framestore is a British Oscar-winning visual effects company based near Oxford Street in London. Formed in 1986, it acquired the Computer Film Company in 1997. The company works across several different areas of the media: feature films, commercials, music videos, feature animation and digital.The...
, and were created using a variety of programs, including Houdini
Houdini (software)
Houdini is a high-end 3D animation package developed by Side Effects Software which is headquartered in Toronto, Canada. It is a rewrite of the PRISMS ecosystem of standalone tools. Its chief distinction from other packages is that it has been designed as a purely procedural environment...
and Flame. Since at the time of filming, the sea around Auckland harbour used in the shots of the North Sea oil rig
North Sea oil
North Sea oil is a mixture of hydrocarbons, comprising liquid oil and natural gas, produced from oil reservoirs beneath the North Sea.In the oil industry, the term "North Sea" often includes areas such as the Norwegian Sea and the area known as "West of Shetland", "the Atlantic Frontier" or "the...
was unsuitably quiescent, the group made use of techniques developed for their earlier work on Superman Returns
Superman Returns
Superman Returns is a 2006 superhero film directed by Bryan Singer. It is the fifth and final installment in the original Superman film series and serves as a alternate sequel to Superman and Superman II by ignoring the events of Superman III and Superman IV: The Quest for Peace .The film stars...
to produce the stormy seas that appear in the final cut.
The piece was first aired in selected cinemas prior to screenings of The Bourne Ultimatum
The Bourne Ultimatum
The Bourne Ultimatum is the third Jason Bourne novel written by Robert Ludlum and a sequel to The Bourne Supremacy . First published in 1990, it was the last Bourne novel to be written by Ludlum himself. Eric Van Lustbader wrote a sequel titled The Bourne Legacy fourteen years later.A film titled...
from 17 August 2007. This was followed three days later by appearances on national British television.
An extended version of Peter Raeburns's soundtrack to the ad, named 'Celebrare', was commercially released on July 14 2008, accompanied by remixes by UK DJs Layo and Bushwacka!.
Online
AKQA LondonAKQA
AKQA is a creative agency specializing in interactive marketing. The privately held company has offices in London, San Francisco, New York, Washington D.C, Amsterdam, Berlin, Shanghai and San Salvador, totally roughly 1,000 full-time employees.-Philosophy:...
were brought on by the creators to design the online elements of the campaign which would appear as teaser
Teaser
A teaser is a type of gambling bet that allows the bettor to combine his bets on two different games. The bettor can adjust the point spreads for the two games, but realizes a lower return on the bets in the event of a win....
s prior to the screening of the commercial. Keeping in line with the central themes of the sea and of purification, AKQA constructed the "Smirnoff Purifier". The Purifier was a hydraulic cannon
Hydraulics
Hydraulics is a topic in applied science and engineering dealing with the mechanical properties of liquids. Fluid mechanics provides the theoretical foundation for hydraulics, which focuses on the engineering uses of fluid properties. In fluid power, hydraulics is used for the generation, control,...
attached to a platform off the southern coast of England. The cannon was used to launch a number of objects including refrigerator
Refrigerator
A refrigerator is a common household appliance that consists of a thermally insulated compartment and a heat pump that transfers heat from the inside of the fridge to its external environment so that the inside of the fridge is cooled to a temperature below the ambient temperature of the room...
s, washing machine
Washing machine
A washing machine is a machine designed to wash laundry, such as clothing, towels and sheets...
s, and caravan
Travel trailer
A travel trailer or caravan is towed behind a road vehicle to provide a place to sleep which is more comfortable and protected than a tent . It provides the means for people to have their own home on a journey or a vacation, without relying on a motel or hotel, and enables them to stay in places...
s back ashore. The footage taken of the launches was then integrated into an online game on the Smirnoff website, where users would choose how much pressure to fire the objects with. Those who successfully landed all of the pieces onto a target on the beach could enter a prize draw to win a year's supply of Smirnoff vodka.
Tour
Coinciding with the first appearances of the commercial on television, Smirnoff began a national tour of the "Smirnoff Purification Installation", a custom-built apparatus that would purifyWater purification
Water purification is the process of removing undesirable chemicals, materials, and biological contaminants from contaminated water. The goal is to produce water fit for a specific purpose...
samples of water
Water
Water is a chemical substance with the chemical formula H2O. A water molecule contains one oxygen and two hydrogen atoms connected by covalent bonds. Water is a liquid at ambient conditions, but it often co-exists on Earth with its solid state, ice, and gaseous state . Water also exists in a...
for members of the public who approached the operators. The installation was first tested publicly using water on the (River Thames
River Thames
The River Thames flows through southern England. It is the longest river entirely in England and the second longest in the United Kingdom. While it is best known because its lower reaches flow through central London, the river flows alongside several other towns and cities, including Oxford,...
), in London, followed by the Water of Leith in Edinburgh in 2005. The installation then went to The Philippines in 2006, to purify water from the Marikina River
Marikina River
The San Mateo - Marikina River is a main river system in Eastern Metro Manila, Philippines. A river stretching from Rodriguez, Rizal, to Pasig City that connects to Pasig River as major tributary near Napindan Area in Pasig City.San Mateo - Marikina River used to be an important transport route...
. Sites in the United Kingdom visited by the installation this year to coincide with the commercial include Blackpool
Blackpool
Blackpool is a borough, seaside town, and unitary authority area of Lancashire, in North West England. It is situated along England's west coast by the Irish Sea, between the Ribble and Wyre estuaries, northwest of Preston, north of Liverpool, and northwest of Manchester...
(Irish Sea
Irish Sea
The Irish Sea separates the islands of Ireland and Great Britain. It is connected to the Celtic Sea in the south by St George's Channel, and to the Atlantic Ocean in the north by the North Channel. Anglesey is the largest island within the Irish Sea, followed by the Isle of Man...
), Portsmouth, Bristol and Newquay
Newquay
Newquay is a town, civil parish, seaside resort and fishing port in Cornwall, England. It is situated on the North Atlantic coast of Cornwall approximately west of Bodmin and north of Truro....
(Atlantic Ocean
Atlantic Ocean
The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's oceanic divisions. With a total area of about , it covers approximately 20% of the Earth's surface and about 26% of its water surface area...
).
When water is placed into the plant, it passes through a series of sediment
Sediment
Sediment is naturally occurring material that is broken down by processes of weathering and erosion, and is subsequently transported by the action of fluids such as wind, water, or ice, and/or by the force of gravity acting on the particle itself....
filters, is chlorinated
Chlorination
Chlorination is the process of adding the element chlorine to water as a method of water purification to make it fit for human consumption as drinking water...
, and then re-filtered. It then travels through a reverse osmosis
Reverse osmosis
Reverse osmosis is a membrane technical filtration method that removes many types of large molecules and ions from solutions by applying pressure to the solution when it is on one side of a selective membrane. The result is that the solute is retained on the pressurized side of the membrane and...
system, is subjected to ultraviolet
Ultraviolet
Ultraviolet light is electromagnetic radiation with a wavelength shorter than that of visible light, but longer than X-rays, in the range 10 nm to 400 nm, and energies from 3 eV to 124 eV...
light, and is tested on-site by approved laboratory staff to ensure its potability. Finally, the water is run through activated charcoal in the same manner as Smirnoff vodka before being presented to the public for consumption.
Sale kits
As a tie-in to the £5m campaign, Smirnoff spent a further £500,000 on a set of point of salePoint of sale
Point of sale or checkout is the location where a transaction occurs...
kits focusing on promoting the "purity" of Smirnoff vodka and presenting a number of serving suggestions. The kit includes a training CD with demonstrations of Smirnoff serves, as well as branded ice buckets, bar runners, poster
Poster
A poster is any piece of printed paper designed to be attached to a wall or vertical surface. Typically posters include both textual and graphic elements, although a poster may be either wholly graphical or wholly text. Posters are designed to be both eye-catching and informative. Posters may be...
s and drip mats.