Empire Delivers "Transformers" Director Michael Bay to Direct a Commercial for Asahi Super Dry Beer in Japan
For Japan’s No.1 beer, “Asahi Super Dry”, Asahi wanted their new campaign to reflect the grand scale and aspirations of the brand. In response to this, Empire Entertainment Japan proposed the dramatic solution of tasking one of Hollywood’s top directors with that challenge, and together we have delivered the “Grand Shout”. Empire approached Hollywood’s multi-award winning director Michael Bay, director of such movies as “Pearl Harbor”, “Armageddon” and “Transformers”, to shoot a campaign comprised of short film, trailer and commercials. The commercial films feature Japan’s biggest rock star, Masaharu Fukuyama, performing his own specially written song, “Around The World”.Moab and Santa Fe in the United States provide the magnificent backdrop for the short films which consist of a teaser trailer, 15, 30, 60 and 90 second ads together with interviews and behind-the-scenes footage. The unique spot featured buffalo-mounted cameras and helicopters to capture Michael Bay’s grand vision.For this major project - under the guidance of Emmy Award-winning Executive Producer Theodore Miller - Empire Entertainment was in charge of casting, negotiating with and contracting Michael Bay to direct and produce the “Grand Shout”. In collaboration with Hakuhodo and post production agency TYO, the short films have been leveraged into a full 360°campaign.Needless to say - as witnessed by the incredible visuals and music – combining the talents of one of Hollywood’s finest movie-makers and Japan’s top rock performers, together with Empire’s production expertise resulted in a set of movie-like ads that ensure Asahi Super Dry, Japan’s No.1 beer brand remains at the forefront of audiences’ imaginations.The 90 second spot can be viewed HEREEmpire Entertainment is a leading provider of notable directors, actors and creative resources for advertising, industrial video and brand marketing projects. In addition to Michael Bay, Empire has delivered directors including George Lucas, Judd Apatow, Spike Lee, and Bennett Miller (Capote, Moneyball) for past projects.
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