• by Karlene Lukovitz  @KLmarketdaily, May 17, 2018

Stoli, looking to reestablish pop-culture visibility and attract a new generation, has tapped Oscar-winning composer Hans Zimmer and other noted talents for its new global campaign, “Loud and Clear.”

The campaign’s core theme of self expression — championing  young adults’ desire to “embrace their style, passions and beliefs with conviction,” in Stoli’s words — has become a familiar one among brands in many product categories.

But Stoli’s dramatic creative, spanning television, digital, social and print, is designed to compel attention for the 80-year-old brand, which is seeking to leverage its Russian heritage.

The showcase of the campaign, developed with FF New York, the global creative agency founded by Fred & Farid, is a 90-second anthem ad (below) shot in Ukraine, showing “real people” celebrating their identities.

The ad features music by Zimmer, the composer for films including "The Lion King," "Gladiator" and "Dunkirk." Emmy-nominated producerLorne Balfe collaborated with Zimmer on the score. Rachel Morrison — the first woman to be nominated for an Academy Award for cinematography, for her work on "Mudbound" — served as the director of photography on the video, which was shot by directors “We are From LA.”

The print ads, featuring black-and-white photos against Stoli-red backgrounds, were shot by renowned photographer Rankin, in London. They incorporate designs by graphic artist Tyrsa, who created a new font (“Stoli Brush”) for the ads. Stoli says it will make the font available for free downloading/use by all.

Stoli is “proud of our brand identity and values and want our fans to feel the same,” said Hugues Pietrini, global president and CEO of Stoli Group. “We were one of the first Russian brands that made it outside the Soviet Union to be sold in the U.S. in the ’60s and ’70s,” he elaborated to Fast Company, adding that the brand wants “to be seen to be quite cool, and to connect with consumers and people who have not thought about Stoli in the last years.”