Johnnie Walker: The Man Who Walked Around The World

One of my favourite actors, without a doubt, has to be Robert Carlyle. From Trainspotting to The Full Monty to The 51st State, Carlyle always delivers shocking believable performances. Although Carlyle rejects the term 'method actor' he always seeks out a level of emotional identification with a role aiming to find a core of humanity. This is what ultimately makes him so memorable and convincing. With all that said (and not to mention Carlyle's Scottish heritage), it should come as no surprise that Carlyle was the first choice when it came to casting for Johnnie Walker's new ad.

The ad, created by Bartle Bogle Hegarty, was shot in Scotland in a single continuous take, which sees Carlyle tell the story of how Johnnie Walker whiskey developed from the grocery shop blending of a 14 year old shopkeeper to the international brand that it is today. Between a classic Scottish bagpipe intro and the random appearance of visual cues along the highland that Carlyle is walking, the ad is certainly captivating and engaging. Carlyle delivers a pitch-perfect and charismatic narrative that turns this into more of a short film then an ad.

The copy is from BBH's Juston Moore, and while the ad is delivered as a single continuous shot, according to the production company it did take 40 takes to achieve a successfully result. Shots has a great interview with the ad's director, Jamie Rafn of HLA.

So without further delay, here it is...