Cheryl Hunter (shelflife at marklives.com)’s weekly pick of all things new — product, packaging, design, insight, food, décor and more!
- Marketing 100 years with LOUIS XIII Cognac
- Dapper Coffee at Club9
- New vibes on social media
- Keeping on TOPs with Spar
The movie you will never see
To illustrate the incredible time it takes to produce a decanter of Louis XIII, the cognac brand has launched a very smart marketing campaign, in partnership with actor John Malkovich and director Robert Rodriguez, to create “100 Years: The Movie You’ll Never See” — set to premier in 2115.
“100 Years — The Movie You Will Never See” envisions Earth a century from now and has been inspired by the century of craftsmanship and patience it takes to create each decanter of LOUIS XIII Cognac. To ensure that “100 Years” remains secure until its official premiere on 18 November 2115, the film has been placed in a state-of-the-art safe which will open automatically when the timing is complete. The safe features bulletproof glass and a revolutionary timer that records the time and date and counts down 100 hundred years. It is being transported around the world under high-level security for an international tour that began in Hong Kong before it reaches its final destination at the House of LOUIS XIII in Cognac, France
One thousand guests from around the world have received an exclusive invitation to give to their descendants to attend the premiere of “100 Years”, in 2115, at the House of LOUIS XIII. Malkovich developed an original screenplay for “100 Years” and was cast alongside Shuya as the two journey through an unknown future, achieved by set design and extensive CGI effects.
Says Ludovic du Plessis, global executive director for LOUIS XIII Cognac, “LOUIS XIII is a true testament to the mastery of time, and we sought to create a proactive piece of art that explores the dynamic relationship of the past, the present, and the future. Four generations of LOUIS XIII cellar masters put a lifetime of passion into a bottle of LOUIS XIII, yet they will never taste the resulting masterpiece. We are thrilled that this talented actor and creative filmmaker were inspired to join us on this artistic endeavor.”
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLGrp6rsinTUbkQ7M1DtjbdFlYi0rp9_q3
While the film will not be released in full until 2115, three teasers have been produced that explore hypothetical visions of what Earth might be like in one hundred years. Each teaser begins with the same dialogue and incorporates the actors, but each presents a different future. One imagines the Earth a century from now overtaken by nature. Another imagines a dark world ruled by technology, after extraterrestrial exploration when Earth became ultra-urbanised and technologically advanced. The third imagines that humanoid robots have taken control of the Earth and humans have to run to escape.
www.louisxiii-cognac.com • Facebook • Twitter • Instagram • Hashtag
Classic coffee club
The latest hotspot to hit Bree Street is Dapper Coffee Co, a coffee shop co-located with the new classic and luxury sportscar showroom, Club9, where visitors may roll in for coffee, enjoy a laid-back lunch, have their wheels polished and even purchase a Porsche on their way out.
Owned by specialist car collector, Dirk Molsen, Club9 features mostly classic Porsche models and takes its name from the fact that most models of Porsche begin with the number nine (911, 993, 996, etc.) Other classic beauties such as Austin Healey, Ferrari and Alfa Romeo are also showcased.
Dapper Coffee Co’s customers may enjoy coffee, a quick bite or a leisurely lunch designed by chef Luke Wonnacott in a classic cafe interior, designed by Toni Unterberger from Rivets and Rockets.
The Dutchmen Car Care Clinic, run by Johan Botha, offers a specialised car detailing service inside the shop, so enthusiasts’ precious collectible cars may be polished and spruced up while they’re relaxing.
www.dappercoffeeco.co.za • club9.co.za • Facebook
Creating a new vibe
Free messaging and calling app, Viber, which has more than 664m unique users worldwide, has launched its latest social channel, “Public Chats”, to partners in Africa and the Middle East, allowing brands, organisations, celebrities, public figures and social influencers to reach local and regional audiences.
Public Chats are live discussions that Viber users may follow, like and share with their communities, offering what is described as a new kind of social experience: tapping into live conversations from celebrities, personalities, brands and organisations.
According to Mark Hardy, CMO, Viber, partners in South Africa include Vanessa Haywood, business woman, sports personality and actress; Cindy Pivacic, HIV awareness creator; Carishma Basday, actress, model and yogi; GreenPop, an environmental NGO on a mission to plant trees; Homeology, an interior design webzine; Gareth Pon, internationally recognised image creator; African Hip Hop music blog; celebrity adventure couple Gugu and Letshego Zulu; soul singer Ms Kelle; celebrity talent, brand and media management specialist Sheree O’Brien; and Hint Business Community founded by Brandon Tancott and Willem Gous.
Anyone on Viber may follow as many Public Chats as they like; conversations are multimedia and include text, photos, audio, video, stickers, web links and geo-localisation.
Staying on TOPs
SPAR’s liquor arm, TOPS at SPAR, which launched 14 years ago in response to the call for a women-friendly liquor shopping environment, has revitalised its logo to align it with other brands in the SPAR group and retain the brand’s longevity.
SPAR group liquor manager Mark Robinson says that, while the existing TOPS at SPAR logo still worked for the brand, it was starting to enter the mature stage of its lifecycle: “With potential changes to liquor legislation on the cards and our ongoing drive to make responsible liquor shopping and consumption fun for our consumers, we felt it was time to give a fresh new spin on our logo.”
The new logo is meant to be clear, crisp and clean, echoing what TOPS at SPAR represents: “[f]emale-friendly liquor stores that are fresh, consumer-friendly and fun, as well as clearly affiliated to the SPAR group’s mother brands, Superspar, Spar and Kwikspar.”
From an initial 16 stores, the brand now has a national and international network of 650 stores, all of which will have rebranded by the end of September this year.
www.topsatspar.co.za • Facebook • Twitter
Shelf Life is MarkLives.com’s weekly column covering all things new. Notify us of yours at shelflife at marklives dot com. Want to sponsor Shelf Life? Contact us here.
Cheryl Hunter (@cherylhunter) has written for the South African media, marketing and advertising industries for more than 15 years. A former editor of M&M in Independent Newspapers and contributor to Bizcommunity, AdFocus, AdReview and the Ad Annual, she has also produced for various television networks and currently consults on communication strategy and media liaison.
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