Giant Films' Ian Gabriel on the new Carling Black Label ad

According to research, ’belief-driven buying’ is on the upsurge worldwide, especially among Gen Z and millennials. I think this is a positive democratising effect that we should celebrate as a small way to improve our thinking and attitudes in the world.

Any time you challenge prejudices in a society you take a risk, but not challenging these prejudices poses a bigger risk for society in the long run.

When we discussed how we wanted to approach this film, we made it clear that our objective would be to deliver what is in fact a moral message in a non-moralistic nuanced way. You need to be sensitive and respectful of diverse views, but you can do that and still advance radical improved ways of being. We have to do this so that generations to come can reap the benefits of our thoughts and actions. Given how much negative effect has been passed on by previous generations and our own (global warming, shocking wealth disparity, etc.), where we can leave positive results we should do so. We probably can’t change the world, but we can try make it a bit better when given the opportunity.

There is greater risk in avoiding pressing subjects that we all care about. The objective was to be non-judgmental and inclusive, and non-exploitative of issues that everyone can see staring them in the face – plenty of people have made and continue to make mistakes and judge others around matters of identity, sexuality, race, background, etc.

The message of being who you are and believing in yourself is broader than the focused message that we applied in this commercial. We wanted people to feel like the thinking process in the commercial was unfolding with them. That was what really informed my direction of Pallance in the commercial. He needed to think his way with us observing what we saw and staying only slightly ahead of our thinking, rather than delivering a ‘know it all, seen it all’ message which is often where walk-and-talk deliveries can land.

Word of mouth and social media responses have all been very positive. Some people have questioned whether delivering a positive message should be the role of an alcohol brand. To that I can only point to how strong their message has been, and to point to US public relations agency Edelman’s Global Trust Barometer 2017 report, which had these findings to share: consumers globally expressed a lack of trust in the social and political institutions that are meant to represent them.

There’s a growing belief that ‘brands can do more to solve social ills than government can’. The more we can do to promote positive values in whatever work we do, the better for the world, the better for the brands. Why ever would we then not do that?

I have worked on many Carling campaigns over the last 20 years – they have always dealt with the idea of ‘what it means to be a real man’. So, in a way this campaign answers a question that is no different from those earlier campaigns. It’s just the answer to the question that has shifted, thankfully, over the passage of time, and being cognisant of important new responses to old events and ideas.

The emergence of the #metoo movement, the current supreme court debate in the USA, the continuing battle for gender rights, the growth of intersectionality around the gender and race debate, etc. – all of these factors have helped to move the conversation in a better direction.

I suspect Carling and its agency will continue along the path they’ve already mapped out for themselves. I think that’s where consumers will encourage them to go. I can’t imagine that they would now deviate much from this path until the message is well and truly delivered and understood.

In order for brands to succeed, I think they need to not only speak out with conviction, but to act on the convictions they express.

We live in a very self-curated society. We try to present the most positive image of ourselves on social media, and brands have realised they must do the same. We’ve lost a certain amount of privacy in the process, but we can control the positive effects and ensure that the trade-off works as a two-way exchange. Brands that promote better social values will earn the loyalty of consumers who will advocate for that brand because we’d all like to be living in a better world.

To find out more about Gabriel, this campaign and others he's directed, go to GiantFilms.tv.