The Idea:
In a bold step to promote its unique new flavour in Morocco, Mirinda is launching the first-ever drink made from green apples -- a distinct identity from all other red apple-based drinks --giving it an advantage when it comes to market positioning.
The green apple and the unique green colour of the product, as selling propositions came to life when, Hussam Mourou, at Impact BBDO - Egypt, got an excellent idea -- keeping with Miranda's worldwide format -- that would appeal to the young age-group: Upon drinking Mirinda, one gets transported into another world.
The Format:
According to Danny Georr, creative director at Impact BBDO-Egypt, a worldwide format consisting of three steps was used in this ad: - Before drinking Mirinda: everything looks rather ordinary.
- While having the drink, Miranda takes you to a fantasy and extraordinary world.
- Finally, things getting back to normal when the bottle is consumed.
The same format has also been used in the Spiderman ad, where the hero turns into the famous character upon drinking Mirinda.
The Filming:
The TVC was shot on 35mm and the filming took two days to complete: The first day, the shooting took place in a caf at Basta. Art director Evelyne Bitar, who had the challenging job of designing the suitable decor, had different colours in mind when it came to the caf. So, she had the walls repainted, and had a bar built as well. The location had to be very traditional but at the same time it had to have the feel of a "western movie", as director Wissam Smayra put it.
"The ad was to be aired in Morocco", says Ray Barakat, producer at The Talkies, "so, we proposed an old caf in Beirut, and created a replica of what would be the typical Moroccan caf."
The production team made sure the choice of the location, the props, and the accessories had a purely authentic Moroccan feel. It was a major issue for the client to get things right to the last detail, such as ashtrays and tea-cups, which are genuine popular Moroccan items. "We coordinated with our Casablanca team concerning the dialect, the culture, the accent, and the music to make sure we got them all right", added Barakat. "Even when it came to the cast; the main lead-role and the bartender were chosen because of their Moroccan features."
Not only did the cast have to look Moroccan but they had to look pretty serious as well! They had to be convincing in the "before drinking Mirinda" scene where it is boring, hot, and definitely not the place to be, in contrast with the fantasy world where no one would mind going to!
"It was hard to shoot in Basta", said Smayra, "because of the terrible heat. Although we did want the cast to look sweaty, the crew ended up having its share of heat as well!"
The second day, all shooting took place in the studio: This time it was all about the fantasy world, the glowing bottle, and the shapes and trails that were later done in graphics. The choice of black dcor and wardrobe contrasted perfectly with the fluorescent green.
The ad featured two talented well-known figures: 'Mr. Lebanon' Assad Tarabay and top model, Lamita Frangieh. "The actor had to be Moroccan featured", said director Wissam Smayra. "He also had to be a very talented actor who could show both sides: the serious face and the wild, crazy, and energetic side, so you would never believe this would come from such a grave face at first. He also had to deliver the terrible effort of drinking almost endless bottles of Mirinda. As for Lamita, she embodied the 'femme fatale', the dream girl, who added a touch of glamour to the scene."
"We did not want to compromise when it came to the female cast", said Georr. "Our choice fell on Lamita because she suited the character the most, being one of the most famous figures with her name being mentioned whenever we talk about divas."
The reality part of the ad called for a hand-held camera, and this time the credit goes to DOP, Yves Sehnaoui, who had to hold the 35 mm for one full day, which was a very hard thing to do as opposed to using the track on the second day, with perfect, steady filming, to accentuate the dream part.
As for the comic touch, it was added at the end, when the young man finds himself in the arms of the cleaning lady.
"We worked hand in hand with creative director Danny Georr, who was cooperative, all the way", added Barakat. "Our strong coordination made it easier to solve all pending issues."
The Result:
The trust the production team got from the agency and the client made all the process -- from pre-production to the final result -- very smooth.
Moreover, the close collaboration between director, Wissam Smayra, and creative director, Danny Georr, took things to a higher level.
In addition to Morocco, the ad is scheduled to be aired in North Africa and Egypt.
© ArabAd 2004
