Would it be fun to have a beer with Genghis Khan? You can do it at Herestobeer.com, the Here’s To Beer, Inc. site, sponsored by Anheuser-Busch, that offers videos of five historical figures quaffing beers as they pontificate about ribald issues, in Genghis Khan’s case having to cook your own food at Mongolian restaurants. “I’m a marauder, a pillager, not a chef,” he exclaims.
Sloane Schroeder, a producer at DDB/Chicago, which created the spot that was produced by Brand New School/Santa Monica, said the humorous historical webisodes were part of the redesign of the site in March to make it “more of a social gathering.” Tom Shipley, senior director of global industry development for Anheuser-Busch, said the historical webisodes were based on TV ads from last year when celebrities identified who they’d like to have a beer with (Spike Lee picked Jackie Robinson) and a contest was held at the site that asked consumers who they’d like to have a beer with. “We had a lot of good entries and it got us to thinking,” Shipley said.
Genghis Khan is one of the historical characters whose webisodes are on the site. They are all played by the same actor, Brendan Hunt, who was chosen from a group of comedic actors. “He had the best handle on making it not overly dramatic, with a wink in his eye and versatile in his accents,” said Jens Gehlhaar, the Brand New School director.
The Genghis Khan video features Hunt in full form, sitting behind a table ranting about Mongolian restaurants, throwing food and a knife at a couple of observers. “It was shot on green screen with the backdrop done in After Effects,” Gehlhaar said. “There was hardly anything moving in the scene, we were just focusing on what he was saying.”
The actor appears behind a large table in the middle of a dark antiquated room. “The color and lighting were inspired by paintings from the period,” Gehlhaar said. “We did a lot of research for the period settings.”
The humorous video “elevates the image of beer and hooks them in with entertainment,” Shipley said.
Director Hans Emanuel Joins Caviar For Commercials and Music Videos
Production company Caviar has signed director Hans Emanuel for U.S. commercial and music video representation. The film and advertising director fuses his keen--and Berlinale Film Festival Award-winning--eye for cinematic storytelling with a commercial background across multiple genres including beauty, automotive, dance, and visual effects-heavy projects, to produce creative for clients like Kia, Nivea, Nissan, L’Oreal, BMW and more.
Caviar executive producer Salim El Arja noted, “Hans has a unique ability to blend stunning visuals with heart and humor, rooted in his confidence as a craftsman. This allows him to focus on drawing exceptional performances from actors--including celebrities--and crafting films that are not only visually striking but also deeply engaging and often hilariously comedic. His sensibilities align perfectly with Caviar’s vision, and we’re excited to collaborate with him on work that pushes creative boundaries.”
Emanuel added, “Caviar is a renowned name, certainly since I began my career. They have a solid reputation for quality work, and I’ve always respected them as a company. Life is about where destiny makes you flow with the people you need; thanks to a series of projects, I was introduced to Florence Jacob with Caviar Paris first, and the rest is history. I feel they can support my career growth with their comedic expertise and filmmaking prowess.”
Prior to joining Caviar, Emanuel had been repped by production house Stadium. He was born and raised in Santa Monica, Calif., to a Mexican-German mother, benefiting from a culturally diversified upbringing that carried through his education interests. Knowing he wanted to be a filmmaker from the start, he began his career in the luxury and beauty field,... Read More