Ad of the Day: Bacardi

As we've mentioned here and there, big brand manifestos are generally best avoided in commercials these days, unless you undermine your own pomposity with self-deprecating humor—or puff it up with even grander and stupider pomposity. Young & Rubicam humorously goes the latter route in this amusing Bacardi spot, titled "Manifesto," which offers an examination of what has separated homo sapiens from our Neanderthal ancestors since the dawn of the species. Basically, Neanderthals had bigger brains and better hair than we did. But we humans, thanks to our ability to communicate better than those Neanderthals, liked to hang out and get drunk together, which built camaraderie. We were also smart enough to look out for each other, warning one another not to eat the poison berries or have that ninth shot of rum. The spot explains all this, then urges us to be true to our social roots, to "fight the LOLs and OMGs" and return to a truly social environment where you physically bring people together—along with some Bacardi, lime and cola, of course. It's entertainingly silly, and features a nice mix of animated graphics and comical live-action clips. So, what are you doing for happy hour tonight?



CREDITS
Client: Bacardi
Agency: Young & Rubicam, New York
Spot: "Manifesto"
Global Creative Directors: Guillermo Vega, Kevin Brady
Copywriter: Tara Lawall
Art Director: Devon Hong
Directors of Content Production: Lora Schulson, Nathy Aviram
Producer: Tamara Lecker      
Senior Broadcast Manager: Debra Horvath
Board Account Director: Shani Athureliya
Business Director: Ben Caulfield
Director: Johnny Kelly
Production Company: Nexus Productions
Executive Producers: Tracey Cooper, Julia Parfitt
Producer: Nathalie Le Berre
Production Manager: Claire Thompson
Project Lead: Mark Davies
Animation: Nexus Productions
Director of Photography: Matthew Day
Live Action Art Director: James Hatt
Editor: Paul Hardcastle @ TRIM
Post Production/Grade: Time Based Arts
Music: "Switched On" by Islands
Arrangers/Composers: Nick Thorburn, Kate Perkins
Publishers: Nick Thorburn, Kate Perkins
Audio Company: Grand Central
Mixers: Steve Lane (TV), Gary Turnbull (Cinema)