Snoop Dogg is quietly dispelling the idea that old is uncool. Oh, you haven’t noticed? Snoop Dogg is 50. In the last twelve months he has been asked to add his trademark swag to Menulog (aka Just Eats), Sodastream, Corona beer, The General Insurance, Tostitos, Dunkin’ Donuts and now a brand that is already a swag-leader, G-Star.
The grandfather of three adds to a list of ultra-cool G-Star ambassadors – Pharrell Williams, chess star, Magnus Carlsen; football club, Borussia Dortmund (with its huge fan base) and Formula 1 phenomenon, Max Verstappen.
This time, Dutch director, Ismael (ten Heuvel), and American director, Teddy Cherim, both from production company, Pink Rabbit, have collaborated to inject Dogg’s style – and a customised version of his new song, Say it Witcha Booty, into G-Star’s new campaign for its Hardcore Denim label.
Snoop Dogg stated, “I’m teaming up with G-Star, because we are both pushing the field, staying ahead, cutting the edge. We are both masters of our craft – leading the game. You know what I’m saying? We look ahead.”
Gwenda Van Vliet, chief marketing officer, G-Star RAW, added, “Snoop Dogg is a true Original: best in class, real and outspoken. He is continuously re-inventing himself and he merges worlds in unexpected ways. Our joint campaign is bringing that philosophy to life, and is a tongue-in-cheek tribute to all denim booties.”
Ismael, a former creative director and co-founder of Pink Rabbit, took The Stable behind the scenes:
The Pressure
“It was a big production, full of uncertainties because of Covid-19. There wasn’t much time and Snoop Dogg was in it. How much pressure can you take on as a production company? We solved a lot of the problems by shooting a large part of the commercial in Barcelona first. Teddy then jumped on a plane to the US to take over control and guide the project to the finish line.
I’m so thankful for collaborating with Teddy for more reasons. The client – G-Star and creative agency, The Family, wanted a funny, impressive, awesome fashion film, that would appeal to a larger audience. I’m good at telling an original story, at form, comedy and emotion. But Teddy lifts that all up with his ‘silly’, but intelligent jokes and subtle little stories within the bigger story. It makes the work extra fresh and layered.”
Booty Perfect
“The Family came up with the idea to approach Snoop Dogg, since G-Star worked with a dog in its communication before. It turned out Snoop liked the bespoke brand and was already planning a new album release, that featured Say it Witcha Booty. The stars aligned…The original lyrics were PG-rated, so we had to adjust them a tiny bit and added ‘G-Star’ here and there – which Snoop Dogg actually approved and surprised us to be honest, in a good way of course.
“The other, main thing was that we wanted to visualise the ‘perfect booty in the perfect jeans’ mostly in a graphic way; these days you can’t be too sexist. It had to look like a modern-day James Bond movie, with the same kind of style, class and nonchalant sexiness.”
Star-struck
“Snoop is extremely professional, and even though I’m an experienced director I was kind of nervous to be honest. But in the end, he asked if we couldn’t make the music video for the song as well.”
Goal
“You don’t get many chances like this in the commercial world. Especially for younger directors like Teddy, it’s difficult to get your hands on advertising scripts like these. The other way around he helps me to steer away from my comfort zone. That’s what I loved most about this production – to work at the highest level with Teddy and others, who complemented, pushed and inspired each other creatively. In the end, that is our goal at Pink Rabbit – to get the most out of every film and the most out of this industry.”
Credits:
Directed by: @teddycherim X @thismael
DOP: @vermeer_pieter
Executive Producer: @mireille_lampe
Producers: @moniquevanbeckhoven, @nielsguidovisser for @pinkrabbitnl
Creative Agency: @thefamilyamsterdam
Executive Creative Director: @joris_kuijpers
Executive Producer: @vanessa._.janssen
Senior Producer: @marcoprooijen
Production Spain: @garlicfilms
Production USA: @freenjoy
Post & VFX Lead: SquarePXL / @ton_habraken
Animations: @brianelstak
Grade: Crabsalad / @laurensorij
Editor: @mrtn.tv s/o Pim
Sound: @sauvagesoundstudios
