Milkt, the bicoastal directing collective behind MILKPEP’s Got Chocolate Milk? spots and memorable work for Samsung and Absolut has just launched a campaign for Pacifico from the lens of award-winning Director Taylor Steele. Working closely with the GSD&M creative team, Andy Miller and Joel Davis, Steele turned out his first project with Milkt, firing the starting gun on an intriguing new partnership.
Taylor’s pair of atmospheric spots hew to Milkt‘s strong tradition of creating high-quality work with superior production values. Original Explorers is a grainy recreation of Baja Mexico circa 1972, narrating the journey of VW Bus-driving surfers who discover Pacifico at a roadside bar and carry the brew back to the US in wooden crates. For a more contemporary take, Spin the Bottle works the beer in as a subtle accessory to an intrepid band of hip, devil-may-care explorers who spin a Pacifico bottle and wheel off to wherever it points.
Working with the detailed creative that Miller and Davis had crafted, Steele collaborated closely with the pair to develop an authenticity of time and place. “I find that people resonate more with a product or film if they feel it, so my goal is to make the audience feel as though they are living the story,” notes Steele. “This requires capturing details both close and intimate to complement the wide-angle shots that we chose. Everything from frame rates to lens choice can have a big effect on audience perception.”
In joining Milkt, Steele is aligning himself with a commercial production company for the first time after decades of making influential travel and surf documentaries through his Poor Specimen production company. He is also well known for his procession of work for Corona, which includes conception and management of their hugely popular La Casa retreat for artists and musicians in Byron Bay, Australia.
“Taylor’s evocative, memorable work is a seamless fit for Milkt‘s pioneering spirit and dedication to excellence,” notes Milkt founder and EP Lindha Narvaez, who runs the studio alongside industry veteran cinematographer Vance Burberry. “We are the little known secret in the production community, always striving for the simple, and believable. These two spots are an exemplar that Taylor embraces that same ethos of spare and powerful storytelling.”
Indeed, Steele’s work drew rave reviews from the creative team at GDS&M. “Taylor brought a level of expertise to the subject that was invaluable,” remarked GSD&M CD Andy Miller. “On top of that, he understood the balance between cinematic storytelling and
