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Ads for top-shelf liquor usually lean heavily and stereotypically into the 1% lifestyle, with beautiful people hanging out in exotic settings where the common folk aspire to tread.
The new campaign for Belvedere 10, a $150-per-bottle line extension of the flagship vodka, goes for a slightly different kind of chic, while adding a dose of humor that’s largely absent from the category.
The cinematic spot comes from director Taika Waititi, who stars alongside Grammy Award-winning artist Future. It takes place at a dilapidated hacienda-turned-nightclub where the bartender—Waititi as a grill-wearing Kiwi cowboy—demands an elaborate and increasingly ridiculous secret handshake before he’ll rustle up a cocktail.
Future obliges, and the results are hilarious (and imminently rewatchable—don’t overlook the outtakes at the end of the video).
Other scene-setters include a pair of vintage white Rolls Royces—this is still high-end hooch—custom-made crocodile boots, sharp-dressed men and a banging soundtrack.
“There is a fine line that allows humor and rebelliousness to exist within luxury,” Waititi said in a statement. “This campaign embodies a rare moment where this intersection meets.”
While the actor-writer-director called Belvedere “one of the coolest alcohol brands in the world,” Future said he “loved that there was a readiness to craft something unedited, genuine and resolute—I appreciated the concept that you cannot feign it, you must genuinely embody it.”
The three-minute “director’s cut” is a sequel of sorts, following Waititi’s dance-centric spot with Daniel Craig in late 2022. The lauded long-form ad solidified Belvedere’s relationship with the former James Bond and launched on a Times Square billboard, a first for the brand.
Vogue Australia editor in chief Christine Centenera, acting as stylist, and photographer Atiba Jefferson were among the creatives behind the scenes of “Belvedere Presents Future: Directed by Taika Waititi,” while producer ATL Jacob curated the original soundtrack.
The film, with an assist from production houses Hungry Man and Bandits, promotes the new product and its unique bottle, which stands 16 inches tall and is “designed to evoke the facets of a diamond” and reflect the organic diamond rye that it’s distilled from, per a review in Drink Hacker.
Future paid dearly for it in the mini-movie, handing over an attaché case (filled with cash?) after his choreographed arm dance with Waititi.
Belvedere’s campaign adds to the lengthy list of commercial work for both men, with Future having appeared in ads for Apple Music, Samsung, StubHub, Nike and Gap, while Waititi recently directed campaigns for Tourism New Zealand, his namesake Taika beverage and Apple for International Day of Persons With Disabilities.
