“Deepen the Bond”, featuring Martin and Roman Kemp, is the new Father’s Day campaign created by Iris, the global creative innovation network. The social campaign brings to life Jack Daniel’s’ new Bonded whiskey by helping sons and daughters strengthen their own bonds with their fathers.
Iris has worked with Jack Daniel’s and adored father and son duo, Martin and Roman Kemp. The campaign encourages sons and daughters across the UK to deepen the bond with their father figures.
As part of the Jack Daniel’s “Deepen the Bond” Father’s Day campaign, nine questions have been created to help people uncover their father’s memories and spark conversations about their life in order to bring them even closer together.
To learn more, we spoke to the project’s Associate Creative Director, Jan Pruijser.
What was the brief?
Our brief was to assert new Jack Daniel’s Bonded, the latest addition to the Super Premiums range, as the perfect gift to give, drink and share with the man that means the most in your life this Father’s Day.
How did the initial pitch/brainstorming phase go?
Father’s Day is traditionally a key period for the American Whiskey category, and we wanted to bring authenticity to this. We presented three different ways-in, ranging from funny (there was a route around lawn mower art...) to serious. We’re delighted that the Jack Daniel’s team was as excited as we were about Deepen The Bond.
What was the process behind ideating the concept?
We landed on the insight that this Father's Day, we didn’t just want to encourage gift giving, but also giving the gift of time. Hanging out with your father, or father figure, spending quality time over a quality whiskey.
What was the production process like?
Shooting authentic social content that still feels premium for a high-end product can be challenging. Our aim was to give it a premium look and feel with the framing, grade and camera set up, and add the social feel with interesting split screen shots and editing.
What was the biggest challenge during production? How did you overcome it?
We needed to find our heroes… a famous son/daughter and father - tiny talent pool indeed. However, working alongside our PR & Talent team, we landed on Martin & Roman Kemp. From the very first Zoom call, they were excited about the project and their authenticity and openness was a perfect fit for the story we wanted to tell.
What kit/tools/software were used to create the project?
We shot on three Canon cameras with Zeiss Compact Zoom lenses to make sure we could capture an authentic conversation in its entirety and not miss any of the good moments. The lenses really helped with the premium look and feel, and complimented the low key, ‘last orders’ lighting we wanted to achieve.
What is one funny or notable thing that happened during production?
Roman and Martin commented on how young our creative team, Ben and Keilan looked, jokingly asking if it was their first shoot. The two replied with “actually, yes, it is…”. Immediately the Kemps jumped up, shook their hands and congratulated the pair, not having otherwise guessed it from the success of the shoot.
What’s the main message of this project and why does it matter?
As we get older, we naturally get distracted with life and forget to spend quality time with the people we love – this is especially true of our Fathers/ father figures. With this project, we wanted to inspire viewers to give their fathers the gift of their quality time and Deepen their Bond over a glass of Jack Daniel’s Bonded.
How long did it take from inception to delivery?
From the initial briefing from Jack Daniel’s in early February, to the campaign live date on the 1st of June, the full process took us 4 months.
What do you hope it achieves for the brand?
With this campaign, we hope to showcase the premium side of Jack Daniel’s and specifically Jack Daniel’s new Bonded whiskey. A new expression which many may not have previously known, or considered, to gift to the most important man in our lives.
Credit list for the work?
Client: Jack Daniel’s
Lead Agency: Iris
Agency Creative Director: Jan Pruijser
Copywriter: Ben Parmenter
Art Director: Keilan Grant
Senior Strategist: Samaneh Zamani
Chief Strategy Officer: Chris Whitson
Managing Partner: Elisha Pearce
Group Account Director: Charlotte Coombes
Agency Producer: Kirk Mechan
Partnerships Account Director: Lily Rutherford
Media Agency: Spark Media
Production Company: Iris CYLNDR
Exec Producer: Lauren Tyson
Producer: Oliver Rushton
Director: Jonny Briggs
Director of Photography: Jack Harrison
Gaffer: Abi Hurcomb
Sound: Chris Box
2nd Camera: Ricardo McLeary
Assistant Camera: Jude Jansen
Hair and Make Up: Melissa Bourne
Post Producer: Ollie Rushton, Sam Kirby
Editor: Jonny Briggs
Colourist: Nevan Carey
Post-production: IRIS CYLNDR
Audio post-production: Grand Central Recording Studios
