Beefeater's zero alcohol gin is virtual insanity

The year is 1996. The video is Jamiroquai's Virtual Insanity. The response is one of both amazement at the brilliance of it, and confusion at how the hell is was done [spoiler; the set was moving, not the floor].

Well, fast-forward thirty years, and while Glazer might not back, lead singer Jay Kay is, and so too is the brilliance of the Virtual Insanity concept which recreates the ‘reach and slide’ move three decades on and, this time, has Beefeater finally revealing what it was that Kay was really reaching for.

Created by Lucky Generals and directed by Julien & Quentin through magna studios for Beefeater 0.0, and with a strong commitment to analogue craft, the new spot honours the spirit of the original film while pushing it somewhere new [quite literally, as this time it was the floor that moved, not the walls]. The production avoided CG and AI, instead building nine physical rooms and relying on in-camera choreography, set design and performance - all choreographed by Jay Kay himself - to create and deliver a sense of movement and surprise that made the original so mind-blowing.

“We thought the 30th anniversary of Virtual Insanity was the perfect moment to finally set Jay Kay free from that little white room," said Shelley Smoler, CCO and Damien Le Castrec, CSO at Lucky Generals. "Free to wear more hats than ever before. Because, ironically, when you drink Beefeater 0.0, you get more.” 

“When we first took on this project, we immediately felt the profound weight and legacy of Jonathan Glazer’s iconic original music video," added Julien & Quentin. "It’s a masterpiece that fascinated an entire generation, including us, driven by Jay Kay’s undeniable flow and that legendary track. While stepping onto such sacred pop-culture ground was initially daunting, the opportunity to pay homage to this monument of music history, and offer a surprising modern sequel to it, was incredibly compelling."