Spec ad for Johnnie Walker wins hearts

By Ashee Sharma , afaqs!,

New Delhi |

In Digital

| December 18, 2015

While the ad has not yet been picked up by Johnnie Walker, the video released on the director duo's YouTube channel (Dorian & Daniel ) on December 14, has already got over two million views.

Dear Brother, the 90 second-long film, which happens to be a spec ad for the whisky label Johnnie Walker, begins with two brothers who set out on a trail, possibly to relive their memories of togetherness, of sharing with and caring for each other. It is surreal, it talks of this world and the next...

The video shows the two men traversing a rugged terrain with a pensive background score and a voiceover accompanying them. As they wind their way through the forests, the mountains and the waters, one of them (we assume he's the elder one) constantly guides the other and helps him out of all difficulties. Midway through the ad they approach a dilapidated house. The weather is chilly, and when their attempts at lighting a fire fail, a bottle of Johnnie Walker warms the scene.

Throughout the ad, the younger sibling is seen carrying something wrapped in a gunny bag. Eventually, when they reach the end of a cliff, it is revealed that the bag he had been lugging all the way is an urn with his brother's ashes. As he frees those memories into the sea, the voiceover says, "And, if your heart's full of sorrow, keep walking (Keep Walking is the brand's tagline, incidentally). Don't rest and promise me, from heart to chest, never let your memories die..never. I will always be alive and by your side, in your mind...I'm free..."
This one, if one would believe, is a spec ad for brand Johnnie Walker, directed by Daniel Titz and Dorian Lebherz, students at the Film Academy of Baden-Wurttemberg. Jan David Gunther is the director of photography. While the ad has not yet been picked up by Johnnie Walker, the video released on the director duo's YouTube channel on December 14 and has already got over two million views.