Rémy Martin has launched a collaborative new campaign with multi‐Grammy award winning musical artist Usher to celebrate the harmonious blending of two cultures of timeless excellence–music and cognac. Team Up For Excellence–The Film highlights the cultural connection over the years between cognac and American music, and how the two have been synonymous ever since.
In the film imagined in collaboration with FRED &FARID New York and directed by Jake Nava of Believe Media, Usher narrates a story spanning the decades from the 1920’s (centered on African-American soldiers stationed in the heart of France during World War I) to present day, which pays tribute to the multi‐cultural connections, celebrated styles and rhythms of the past.
“Music doesn’t need cognac to exist, and cognac doesn’t need music to exist,” stated Usher, “but what is beautiful is that they were meant to meet and when they did, they created cultural harmony.”
Teaming up with Usher, Rémy Martin and director Nava were globally recognized creatives including music composer Raphael Saadiq, Academy‐Award winning costume stylist Marci Rodgers, and award-winning dance choreographer Aakomon Jones.
“I was really inspired by creating the historical music scenes in a way that felt true to the spirit of that moment, but also relevant and eye‐catching to a young contemporary audience,” said Nava, “This dual priority informed my direction of all the music, dance and Usher’s performance.”
CreditsClient Rémy Martin Cognac Agency FRED & FARID New York Laurent Leccia, creative director; Farid Mokart, CEO/chief creative officer; Tennille Teague, executive producer; Severino Atret, managing director. Production Believe Media Jake Nava, director; Jess Hall, DP; Marc Bernardout, exec producer; Ben Cooper, producer; Marci Rodgers, costume stylist; Aakomon Jones, dance choreographer. Editorial Final Cut Joe Guest, editor; Penny Ensley, producer. VFX Significant Others Sara Gbadamosi, producer; Ray Giarrantana, VFX supervisor; Alek Rost, head of production; Dirk Greene, creative director. Music Search Party Music Raphael Saadiq, composer; Winslow Bright, exec producer; Jamelle Adisa, music coordinator; Kevin Luu, playback engineer; Tracy Townsend, Pro Tools Playback OP. Meghan Currier, music supervisor.
FOUR PAWS Teams With Catsnake, Animation Studio Bewilder To “Be Their Voice”
Global animal welfare organization FOUR PAWS has launched the “Be Their Voice” campaign. Partnering with specialist creative agency Catsnake and South African production and animation company Bewilder, the campaign sheds light on a cruel practice called live lamb cutting. The film aims to raise awareness and inspire international action, urging fashion brands and policymakers to ban this inhumane practice by 2030.
The stop-motion “Be Their Voice” film follows a PhD student, Jesse, as he tries to perfect his sheep translation software with the help of a young sheep called Sunny. The initially heartwarming story takes an unsettling turn as Sunny discovers what is soon to happen to her on the farm.
Catsnake felt that the best way to capture the true horror of live lamb cutting was to focus on storytelling that would engage the audience emotionally. Catsnake creative director Rowena Wyles said, “A lot of animal rights campaigns rely on sharing shocking visuals of cruelty, but we know that tends to stop a wider audience from engaging with the issue. Instead, we wanted to draw people in with humor and heart before delivering the shocking truth of the practice.”
Working collaboratively with Bewilder, the film was brought to life with a mixed-media approach; recreating the look and feel of stop-motion with the flexibility of 3D animation. The sets, props and lighting were all made in Bewilder’s in-house studio, and the 3D characters were placed in afterwards.
Ruan Vermeulen, creative director at Bewilder, explained the process: “We built a ‘realistic’ miniature farm setting with stylized and lovable CGI characters. Combining a vast range of skill sets, with a multitalented creative team, our goal was to create an animation... Read More