- Brand - Red Stripe
- Spot - Make Music In The Corner Shop
- Title - Rudy, A Message To You
- Composer - Dandy Livingstone
- Publisher - Carlin Music
- Artist - Hirsch & Mann/KK Outlet
- Record Co - Trojan Records / Universal Records
- Ad Agency - KK Outlet
- Creative Director - Dave Bell
- Production Co - Stinkdigital
- Director - Dave Bell
- Ad Director - Greg Brunkalla
- Air Date - November 27 2012
Hackney’s Kingsland Road is a little slice of Jamaica smack in the centre of London. So there is no better place to site a ska-loving supermarket stocked to the rafters with Kingston’s favourite brew, Red Stripe.
That’s exactly what Hoxton based creative shop KK Outlet has done for their latest collaboration with the beer brand.
Best Supermarket was transformed overnight from a typical neighbourhood store into an all-singing, all-dancing musical market where bottles of Red Stripe are triggered into a performance of Dandy Livingstone’s 1967 ska masterpiece Rudy, A Message To You when customers reached for a bottle of the pale nectar brewed in Jamaica.
KK Outlet creative Emma Morton said it is the sixth collaboration with Red Stripe and the first that puts music right at the forefront of the idea. She added that the concept was to celebrate the rich musical heritage of Jamaica with Red Stripe’s DIY spirit.
Morton explained, “Red Stripe’s homeland has a rich history of creative and original DIY - particularly in musical instruments, and the audience is taken on a signature Jamaican musical journey.”
Daniel Hirschmann of Hirsch & Mann designed and developed the everyday objects to sound like instruments: there are trumpets made out of glass bottles, a xylophone constructed from food cans, Pot Noodle maracas, and jumping boxes, brooms and dustpans which came alive in a variety of tones and sounds everytime unsuspecting customers chose a can of Red Stripe.
Thus, Red Stripe bottles on shelves rattle and then their tops pop off and whistle along to the tune covered by The Specials in 1979 (with a little help from Livingstone’s friend and trombonist Rico Rodriguez). An empty Red Stripe box on the floor and metal dustpan help create the percussion for the re-recorded track, played over the original master recording, as published by Carlin Music.
Carlin’s licensing manager Jenifer Baptiste described the effect as: “Red Stripe embellished the original recording by adding their own percussion and instrumental on top of the track using bottles, cans and cartons.”
Morton added that the creative team had searched east London looking for the perfect location. “A corner shop felt like an obvious venue for the hand made instruments, as it’s a natural place to find Red Stripe, so wouldn’t feel forced in any way.”
Customers coming into the shop were completely unaware the online commercial was being made and their reaction to hearing the Red Stripe take on the song are completely unscripted.
“People came into the store, turned left and went to the fridge and when they reached for a bottle of Red Stripe it triggered the playing,” said Morton. “We knew exactly what we wanted the shop itself to do, but the journey to get there involved a lot of experimenting, building and making, which was really exciting.”
Best Supermarket owner Ilker Ozdil said, “I’ve had this place for four years and have never seen people as happy as they were coming here that day. I wish we could keep the instruments here forever.”
