Castle Milk Stout, new TVC

"The new TVC explains the reason for the beer being black, that is that the malt is dark-roasted before it is brewed. It also aims to romance the black liquid before a new target audience - the urban man who enjoys the good things in life, has a sense of style and savours his time with friends in a stylish environment," says Paul Binikos executive director MetropolitanRepublic.

Savouring of a memory

The production company, The Vision Corporation, made use of various shooting techniques to freeze moments in time. The set consisted of a bar with a beautiful, textured ambience that reflects a chilled and laid-back environment. As the camera moves across the set, the characters are frozen in a moment of laughter or in the midst of a serious conversation. Moments in time were visually captured with appealing shots that demonstrate the savouring of a memory, a conversation, a humorous instant.

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The team aspired to create a TVC that illustrates the product as something desirable, without glamourizing the product. It needed to be credible.

"The style of the commercial is such that it brings the product to the foreground. It is a challenger brand and, at the agency, we enjoy and seek out challenger brands. Everything about the commercial shows a matter of taste. The wardrobe is relaxed with tweed jackets and fedoras. The people feel real and just like the beer, we wanted to portray them as not trying to be something they're not," says Paul Warner, founder and creative director MetropolitanRepublic.

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Colour and texture

The pouring shot brings out the colour and texture of the beer, with a visual beauty that is important in creating a strong taste appeal for the liquid. Producer Nicola Martin, of MetropolitanRepublic, says, "In the TVC we wanted to reflect the texture of the beer. It is different from other beer commercials as it is unique in its look and feel. The colours, direction and storyline create a commercial that is very appealing."

The choice of director was also key. "We carefully considered the right director and Giaco Angelini has a great passion for shooting beer commercials and, at the same time, is great at collaborating and creating the right look for a commercial," says Martin.

"We enjoy taking brands and turning them into hot talking points. We ensure that we always have our fingers on the pulse and check the metaphorical temperature of our environment and the brand's environment. For example, we discovered the Ndebele jerseys, designed by Laduma Ngxokolo, so we feature two of them in the commercial; we believe they might just be the next best thing," concludes Binikos.