Alcohol brand The Kraken Rum is showcasing Britain’s cinematic creative power with a combination of a CGI and live-action ‘mini-movie’. 
Produced by London creative specialists Fight Gravity and Purple Creative, the new advert is part of a wider campaign created to increase The Kraken Rum’s ‘flavour credential’.
The 30-second film tells the origins of how the mythical sea beast, the Kraken, was stained ink-black in an attack on a trading ship carrying fine Caribbean rum and exotic spices in the 19th century.
Shot on location in Hungary at Budapest’s Astra Studios, the ad also unveils The Kraken Rum’s new ‘Legendary’ endline, referring to both the story and the rum’s flavour profile.
It is also supported by a 194-second ‘behind the scenes’ film, dubbed the ‘Making of the Kraken’, which explains some of the detail that went into individual scenes of the moving image.
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For example, all the characters have backstories, with director Rudolf Peter Kiss even imagining what the characters might have had in their pockets, while inside of a wooden 1870s trading ship was physically built as a set, complete with authentic lighting, furniture and fixtures.
To ensure historical accuracy, specialist and authentic 19th-century costumes were imported from Madrid and notably, some scenes were so demanding that Dune Steadicam operator Attila Pfeffer was enlisted to create the illusion of actors braving the tumultuous sea.
The set was also scattered with ‘easter eggs’ – subtle references to the brand’s back story and previous innovations and campaigns.
Fight Gravity’s founder, Paul Cheung, said: “We are over the moon with the ad. The amount of detail the director has managed to cram in is quite astonishing. Really, it’s more of a mini-movie than a commercial.”
“We’re so proud to have been at the sharp end of such an international project and we expect this work will attract more international business, both to ourselves and other UK companies.”
Purple Creative founding partner Steve Bewick added: “This 30-second ad was a fantastic challenge. It mixed live action, including stunt teams and epic real sets, with state-of-the-art CGI animation.
“The Kraken Rum has a big fanbase, so we couldn’t let them down. That’s why we really pushed the creative boundaries and set incredibly high standards for what we expected to achieve – we had to make the story as legendary as the rum.”
Parent brand, Proximo global marketing director Michael Cockram, concluded; “No other brand can tell such a dramatic and legendary story. Our aim is to give meaning to our Black Spiced Rum and showcase The Kraken Rum’s bold and fearless personality and attitude – which we do in an unbelievably epic way.”
