Idea development and choosing final idea

When I first read through the Bacardi brief, part of why it appealed to me was the focus on the brand's heritage and getting this across to the target audience as part of the reason why they should drink Bacardi.

However, when I started to generate ideas for my final concept, I feel I was focusing almost too much on the research I'd done about the "modern male" via the magazines I'd looked at.

- My initial idea was based around a "Work hard, play hard" theme. As mentioned previously, the target audience are 18-24 year old males in the mainstream bar environment. Having researched this audience and thought about the type of male who might drink Bacardi, I envisaged them to be on the first steps of the career ladder, confident, taking care in their appearance and how they come across. The aspirational theme I got from the mens magazines made me think that the target audience work hard in order to succeed, but that they also want to have fun and a good time (socialising with friends, going out, etc) - i.e. play hard.

I came up with a few of visuals for this theme; some type based (as shown above), which I considered combining with a UV ink element so that in the bar/club environment the "play hard" text might stand out more to emphasise this side of the target audience's personality. Other were linked to the idea of 5.00pm on a Friday - which for the majority of people is the start of the weekend - with visuals of involving watches, a very popular item in all the mens mags. However on reflection, these ideas were a little too literal and obvious; although considering my research of the target audience in the final solution is important, I feel there needs to be more of a link to Bacardi (the product, the history, etc) and also some kind of intrigue, both of which these ideas were lacking.


- My next idea was based on the concept of "Perfection takes time". The plan was to link imagery of men perfecting things such as surfing or climbing or driving (activities/interests identified in the mens mags) with the idea of Bacardi being perfected over 150 years, bringing in the heritage and quality of the brand:

I also considered adding a humorous slant by making the activities shown in the advert trivial things, like building a card tower or planking. Although I feel these ideas were more along the right lines as they did make reference to Bacardi's heritage, it was still quite a basic concept - perhaps too simple to have an effect.


- Finally, after reviewing all my research, particularly the advertising I'd looked at which appealed to men but didn't use stereotypical themes or imagery, I came up with basing the concept on the quality of Bacardi. When completing research around the Bacardi brand, I came across a breakdown of the manufacturing process which demonstrated that only the best ingredients are used, only the finest oak barrels are picked, and so on. This resonated with the research I'd done around the target audience pointing to the idea that males should be the best and have the best, etc, and so they place importance on quality.

I came up with a few visuals for the concept: the first was typography based, linking to each step in the manufacturing process. I felt this could be made to look very effective aesthetically, although I was unsure it would particularly attract the target audience:

The next was based on tree rings, linking to the American white oak barrels Bacardi is mellowed in, plus the connection of tree rings to age/history and therefore Bacardi's heritage. The idea was to link the  rings getting bigger with the progression of the Bacardi making process:

And the final idea was based on circles, which are a common theme in the Bacardi process - oak tree, barrel, bottle, glass, bat logo:

The latest Lurpak ad, shown below, is based on the repetition of circles and is very effective, so would be the kind of thing I would aim for with the circles idea. There is also a section where red cabbage is chopped up, which is similar to how I envisage my tree rings idea:

What also strikes me about the Lurpak ad is that the name or product isn't mentioned until the end - it's the ad itself that grabs attention and makes people think, "this is good/interesting/witty". I think this would be a good strategy to use in order to avoid the barrier of the target audience's preconceptions of Bacardi - attracting them via the solution before they even realise it's for Bacardi.

I feel my ideas based on the process and quality of Bacardi are most suitable and have the most potential - they demonstrate the brand's authenticity and heritage, and could be made attractive to males without being stereotypical or obvious. They could also translate across various mediums - the sketches above could work as individual prints (posters, coasters) or be combined as motion graphics to create an animation (digital ad in bar).

After critiquing the typography-based, tree ring and circles ideas, I have decided to proceed with the tree rings concept. I feel although all could have worked, this could be the most effective and interesting visually and most appealing to the target audience. It is also perhaps the most original, as I feel the circle repetition and particularly the typographic style advert, have been done before. A Jack Daniels video I came across in my research comes to mind, as it achieves a "manly" tone without being witty or typical, and portrays the brand as authentic and high class - this is what I want my final solution to do:

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