METZ - FOREST

It was voted 'scariest ad of all time,' and graced our screens, it seemed, mostly late at night. Not a few complaints were received from concerned parents, and so it was deemed 'too scary for television' (whatever that means), and shortly after banned.

Back in 2000, Bacardi's Forest advert took us to a darkly theatrical fairytale world, inhabited by the wonderfully creepy 'Judderman' - who would lure unsuspecting travellers into unspecified danger with his Schnapps-based alcopop drink. Taking his name from the 'judders' which were an effect of drinking Metz, and a focus of the advertising campaign, he was designed to be beguiling, mysterious, and cold - just like the drink.
The intention was to bring an element of danger to the product. (As HHCL & Partners creative Al Young explained, 'If your're over 18 and you have a choice between a safe product and a dangerous one, you'll choose the dangerous one.')

The inspiration for the style came from early cinematic classics like Nosferatu, and the works of Czech animator Jan Svankmajer. An adapted hand-cranked camera was used, to replicate the variable shutter speeds of early cinema; dissolve effects were achieved by taking double exposures.
It was shot in Budapest, on a gorgeous icy set that had been created for a recent film. The Judderman himself was played by a 6ft-5 ballet dancer, lending him the eerie, elfin movement they wanted. Traditional puppetry and animation add some nice touches, and the whole is completed by a voice-over by Polish-Czech actress Alicia Suszka Fielder.

Metz has has been discontinued, so perhaps as one review suggested, this was a case of the advert overshadowing the product. Which I guess would raise the question, can an advert be too good?