Menabrea’s sister act
The Italian 'best kept secret' lager lets its cover slip in this wonderful branded short from Nalle Sjöblad.
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Credits
View on- Agency ARK Agency/London
- Production Company Artclass/London
- Director Nalle Sjoblad
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Credits
View on- Agency ARK Agency/London
- Production Company Artclass/London
- Director Nalle Sjoblad
- Editing The Quarry
- Post Production/VFX/Color Electric Theatre Collective
- Sound Runamok Studios
- Founder Mat Goff
- Creative Partner Xander Hart
- Production Partner Hannah Needham
- Producer Helen Cliffe
- Founder Michael Wilton
- Creative Partner Edward Usher
- Executive Producer Sam Holmes
- Producer Craig Dixon
- DP Max Smeds
- Executive Producer Sandro Gabilaia
- Head of Production Maia Gurabanidze
- Producer Sopo Parjiani
- Production Designer Bacho Makharadze
- Post Producer Dilia Knobel
- Editor Jonnie Scarlett
- Executive Post Producer Oscar Wendt
- 2D Lead Tyler Yoshikawa
- Colorist Connor Coolbear
- Executive Audio Producer Caroline Jemirifo
- Sound Engineer Jon Clarke
Explore full credits, grab hi-res stills and more on shots Vault
Credits
powered by- Agency ARK Agency/London
- Production Company Artclass/London
- Director Nalle Sjoblad
- Editing The Quarry
- Post Production/VFX/Color Electric Theatre Collective
- Sound Runamok Studios
- Founder Mat Goff
- Creative Partner Xander Hart
- Production Partner Hannah Needham
- Producer Helen Cliffe
- Founder Michael Wilton
- Creative Partner Edward Usher
- Executive Producer Sam Holmes
- Producer Craig Dixon
- DP Max Smeds
- Executive Producer Sandro Gabilaia
- Head of Production Maia Gurabanidze
- Producer Sopo Parjiani
- Production Designer Bacho Makharadze
- Post Producer Dilia Knobel
- Editor Jonnie Scarlett
- Executive Post Producer Oscar Wendt
- 2D Lead Tyler Yoshikawa
- Colorist Connor Coolbear
- Executive Audio Producer Caroline Jemirifo
- Sound Engineer Jon Clarke
There have been a few ‘best kept secrets’ in advertising lore, but there aren’t many that have offered as charming an origin story as Menabrea’s new film, The Smuggler.
Following La Contrabbandiera as she roars through the Italian countryside with a sidecar full of contraband beer, the branded short from ARK Agency and ARTCLASS relishes the unlikely alliance between a fearless smuggler and a gaggle of resourceful nuns. When a snitch brings her adventures to an abrupt halt, her sisters concoct a rescue plan to get the lager flowing again... leaving the authorities nun the wiser.
Directed by Nalle Sjöblad and shot on 16mm by cinematographer Max Smeds, the short’s stark b/w imagery offers a knowing visual nod to another premium lager’s best-loved work; its cinematic flourishes and smashing sense of story feeling right at home in Everyman cinemas across the country, where this particular secret is being let out of the bag.
"Beer advertising has become one long ad," explains Xander Hart, Creative Partner, ARK. "The golden-hour terrace, the interchangeable friends, the perfect pour glistening in the sun, and probably David Beckham somewhere in shot. Menabrea saw that too, so when we set out to make this film for their Everyman sponsorship, we agreed early: it had to behave differently.
"What followed was a genuinely collaborative process with Nalle Sjöblad and the team at ArtClass. We're proud of what we've made together. A film that pulls Menabrea out of the category clichés and back toward the golden age of beer advertising."
"Most briefs arrive half-finished; they hand you an answer and ask you to decorate it," adds Sjöblad. "This one handed us a feeling, a framework and a line, the best isn't always the best known and trusted us to go and find the film inside it. That trust is rare, and it's the whole reason work like this can rise above advertising into something bigger."
