Who: Stella Artois, with Anomaly Toronto for strategy and creative; Pulse Films for production (Sam Pilling directing); TenThree and The Mill for post production; and Wave Studios for sound.
What: “It’s Time to Dine Again,” a new global ad campaign for the premium beer brand that reflects its continued commitment to “make art, not ads.”
When & Where: The campaign is running in eight global markets across TV and cinema, as well as social and out-of-home.
Why: The spot encourages fans to celebrate the everyday and enjoy dinner with a Stella Artois by quite literally flipping the script on what has become our new work-from-home reality.
“It really started with how work life has crept into our home life,” said Anomaly’s group creative director, Neil Blewett. “With phones, emails, and social media, we are always connected, always working. To the point where our dining tables have basically become our desks. We have dinners in front of laptops instead of each other. So we wanted to encourage people to disconnect from work and take back the table. Or, in this case, flip it.”
How: Set to Shirley Bassey’s version of the song “Spinning Wheel,” the spot features a work-from-home scenario that’s become so commonplace in recent years. It opens on a woman toiling at her desk when her partner enters with two glasses of Stella.
Even though her desk/dining room table is covered in work, her partner flips the table over to reveal a place setting for two. As the spot continues, he again flips the table to create a dinner party for six, one of whom is concentrating on his phone and disconnected from his friends. A final flip of his chair sees him holding a chalice of Stella and finally ready to mingle.
Wait, how’d they do that?: Rather than relying on FX, each table flip in the spot was done for real said The Mill’s VFX supervisor Gary Driver. The spot was filmed on a set in Prague’s Barrandov Studios, using a steel-wired table to which Stella Artois chalices, entrees, cutlery and place settings were all loosely affixed.
For the first flip, a dinner for two set-up was hidden underneath the work covering the table and to the table with wires. Some of the larger items on the table were on wires, and air cannons were used to amplify the energy of things as they were flung into the air. (see the making of video below).
And we quote: “Many of us have normalized eating meals whenever it’s most convenient and sometimes even in the midst of our workload. Stella Artois wants to help pour life back into these everyday meals and inspire consumers to bring the joy and connection that comes with sharing at-home dining experiences.” — Lauren Denowitz, U.S. head of marketing, Stella Artois
