Blood sweat and tears make cut+run rule

Top editing house Cut+Run Hong Kong has been busy on two big projects for the Chinese market. The first is a Johnnie Walker spot for BBH Shanghai that features the well known Chinese actor Chen Kun striding along a remote windswept road.  As Chen marches onwards he internally questions which paths to choose as he walks his way through life. This moody commercial is aimed at the growing popularity of premium brand whiskies among China’s growing middle and upper middle class.  Chen was a perfect choice as brand ambassador for Johnnie Walker. The spot was cut by Nick Diss at Cut+Run Hong Kong and directed by Dave Edwards.

“Too much advertising in China is simply aspirational depictions of made up lives. We wanted to do something much more true to the authentic nature of the brand by reflecting upon real people and their real stories and do it in a radically different format,” said Johnnie Tan, Executive Creative Director, BBH China.

Cut+Run’s editor Chris Szymansky was then involved in a new commercial for the VW Sagitar, VW’s flagship vehicle for the Chinese market. It was shot by Derek Richards for production company DMG Beijing and also conceived by agency DMG Beijing.

This commercial was shot in the Zhe Jiang province of China and the key to the success of this spot because the viewer is initially led to believe that they are watching a classic car commercial. Szymanski continues the deception that this is a classic car commercial by giving the film perfect pace right up until the final payoff, leading us all the way up the garden path until the hero’s wife appears.

This is a serious commercial with an unexpected comedic ending, which according to Cut+Run is a real breakthrough in the style of advertising for the region.