Veuve Clicquot Launches First Ever Digital Advertising Campaign

NEW YORK, March 8, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Veuve Clicquot, the world renowned champagne house, unveils a dramatic new digital advertising campaign under the global communications platform "Let Life Surprise You." The luxury House brings a modern day twist to its rich heritage through three short films that speak directly to the House's younger audience, specifically millennials.  To accomplish these goals, Veuve Clicquot enlisted celebrated director Peter Glanz as well as creative agency Rokkan, a division of Publicis Groupe, and the acclaimed actress Juliette Binoche as the voice of the narrator.

The three films, named "On Entertaining," "On Negotiating," and "On Making an Impression," were inspired by the brand's namesake, Madame Clicquot, who ran the company during the 19^th century.  Widowed at the age of just 27, she decided unprecedentedly to take the reins of her husband's wine business. It was her innovative, audacious and visionary spirit that established Veuve Clicquot in the international business arena, bringing champagne further and wider in the world than it had ever been, and creating a remarkable legacy that continues to inspire today.

"As Madame Clicquot herself said, 'there is only one quality, the finest,'" says Veuve Clicquot's President & CEO Jean-Marc Gallot.  "At Veuve Clicquot, we honor tradition and hold strict standards, but we remain firmly focused on the future. With this new campaign, we want to engage our growing international consumer base in a way we never have before, to bring a new spirit to an even wider new audience, without ever forgetting what has always made us great."

"Millennials across the world follow their convictions, not convention, just as Madame Clicquot lived life without being limited by the expectations of others. Our goal as the creative lead in developing this new campaign was to bring her story to life in a way that would resonate and inspire a new generation," says John Noe, CEO and Founder of Rokkan. 

"Each film is a story of past and present," says director Peter Glanz. "In Juliette Binoche, you hear the confident voice of Madame Clicquot and see a modern day muse who is beautiful and poised yet relatable and a bit mischievous.  This juxtaposition is what drew me to direct these films.  It was as if they were made for me." 

Enlisting Juliette Binoche, an outspoken and exceptionally creative actress, as the voice of Madame Clicquot was a natural choice for Veuve Clicquot. Juliette Binoche felt the same way about her role. "Madame Clicquot was a real courageous woman, a first in so many ways," she says. "In running her business, she flouted the establishment.  And in trying to expand it, she even outran blockades! All while creating meaningful and lasting institutions, like champagne vintages, and rosé champagne.  Being able to bring her voice to life was exciting, and I hope these videos inspire viewers as I was inspired by Madame Clicquot's dare of life."

Each film seeks to tie in heritage cues and break the formality surrounding champagne consumption. In "On Entertaining" a group of friends gather for an impromptu party – one friend brings takeout, another décor, while the muse assembles wine glasses and tumblers before opening a bottle of Veuve Clicquot.  The viewer is surprised to find that this party is not in a home, but in fact in an operating furniture and design store. Similarly, the film "On Making an Impression" depicts a young woman who sneaks her way into an exclusive party to give her resume to a powerful business woman.  She successfully navigates around the Napoleonic Code just in time to be invited to the table.  In the final film, "On Negotiating," two friends are seen driving a hard bargain over the price of a vintage coat.  When the refined estate salesman will not seem to negotiate, the women decide that it's nothing a bottle of Veuve Clicquot can't fix.

"Veuve Clicquot has always been a lifestyle brand," said Senior Vice President of Veuve Clicquot U.S., Vanessa Kay. "We have found great success reaching our consumer through events like the Veuve Clicquot Polo Classic and our national tours, but we wanted to extend further.  Advertising allows us to share our message on a broader scale."

Launching in March 2016, the digital advertising campaign will target the millennial consumer, skewing towards a stylish, empowered, and influential female, just like Madame Clicquot.

The Veuve Clicquot campaign will live continuously on the brand's Tumblr page and YouTube channel. To view the films, please visit veuveclicquot.tumblr.com.

About Veuve Clicquot
Founded in 1772, Veuve Clicquot is among the most prestigious champagne houses in the world. The House's extensive holdings stretch throughout the top-rated areas of France's Champagne region and are exceptional in size and quality. As in Madame Clicquot's day, bottles age in the House's vast, vaulted cellars in Reims, portions of which were constructed some 2,000 years ago by the Romans. The audacious Madame Clicquot took over the House in 1805 to become one of the first business women of the Modern Era.  For over 230 years, the House has stayed true to its motto: "Only one quality, the finest."

About Madame Clicquot
Barbe Ponsardin married François Clicquot, who worked in a small family wine business founded by his father in 1772.  In 1805, François died unexpectedly, leaving Madame Clicquot a widow (Veuve in French) at the young age of 27.  Breaking all societal norms of the day, she took the reins of the family business to become one of the first modern-day business women.  Innovative, audacious, and resourceful, Madame Clicquot overcame economic, political, and agricultural challenges to bring her business to international acclaim.  Over the course of her lifetime, she developed three of the most important innovations in champagne: these included the first vintage champagne, the riddling table to clarify champagne, and the first rosé champagne by assemblage.  A determined hand in a velvet glove, Madame Clicquot always demanded 'only one quality, the finest' and as a result she became one of the most successful entrepreneurs in France. 

About Rokkan
Rokkan, a partner for brave change, takes its name from the Japanese word for "the sixth sense," bringing intuition to research and strategy to help brands create data-driven and highly creative storytelling, social engagement, customer experience and e-commerce.  Founded in 2000, Rokkan has grown from a three-person startup into an innovation outlier within the Publicis Groupe.  With offices in New York, Chicago and Los Angeles, Rokkan leverages a unique and nimble approach that blends strategy, storytelling, and technology for outstanding results.  Clients include American Express, Jet Blue Airways, BMW, Samsung, Purina Nestle, and more.  Since its acquisition by the Publicis Groupe in 2012, Rokkan has made a calculated push from pure digital agency into a data-driven storytelling and customer experience agency, adding to its digital and social capabilities integrated brand marketing, paid media planning and buying, and consumer insights and strategy. 

About Les Fraises Sauvages
Les Fraises Sauvages, the agency whose credo is Smart Ideas for Smart Brands, developed Veuve Clicquot's global communication platform "Let Life Surprise You", which encompasses both a new signature and visuals that served as the initial inspiration to these three short films. Les Fraises Sauvages propose a unique approach of Smart thinking, developing participative Brand platform to extend brand value in the new digital environment, Smart targeting, creating points of contact wherever the Brand audience stands, and Smart Content, producing in house high level content for 365 Brand needs. Les Fraises Sauvages is also a global partner for Nuxe (Cosmetics), Habitat, Le Tanneur, Pandora in France, Seiko, SIA (Home).

SOURCE Veuve Clicquot