Global Brand Campaign // Never Stop. Never Settle.
For the past eight years, Hennessy’s “Wild Rabbit” campaign has celebrated the pioneering spirit of extraordinary individuals throughout history. In the latest chapter, we wanted to focus on a story of Black brilliance, which has been overlooked and undervalued for far too long. The new creative spotlights Maurice Ashley, history’s first Black chess grandmaster and tells a different kind of story from past subjects—one rooted in the power of the mind.
Client:
Hennessy
Agency:
Droga5
Year:
2020
Scope
Brand Positioning
Integrated Campaign
Creative / Art Direction
Brand Storytelling
Video Production
Campaign Photography
The film depicts Maurice’s ascent from wide-eyed rookie to grandmaster, transporting us back into the world of Brooklyn in the early ’90s as he hones his skills in the Black Bear School of Chess, a group of accomplished local chess players who congregated in Brooklyn’s Prospect Park. But what begins as a chronicle of the harsh lessons of defeat becomes a voyage through the different layers of Maurice’s mind and the “Never Stop. Never Settle” journey he has to make before he can emerge a champion.
A JOURNEY INTO 90’S BROOKLYN AND
THE MIND OF A GRANDMASTER.
FROM A TABLE IN PROSPECT PARK
TO A PLACE IN HISTORY.
The story of Maurice and the Black Bear School deserved to be told in more detail than one film could capture. The voices of Maurice Ashely and his mentor, Willie “Pops” Johnson, guide this short-from documentary, taking viewers deeper into Maurice’s journey—chronicling his ascent to the top of the game and the ways in which he’s helping the next generation of Black chess players progress. The piece gives this largely untold story the attention it deserves.
Chess is a game of endless lessons that apply to life. In addition to our brand films, we also created “Lessons of a Grandmaster,” a series of shorts that combine the mind-expanding lessons of the board, a dash of street wisdom and art-of-war-esque principles applicable to any of life’s endeavors.
CREDITS —
Agency: Droga5
Role: Senior Art Director
Global Head of Art: Alexander Nowak
Creative Director: Thom Glover
Copywriter: Ted Meyer, Emily Berger
Head of Production: Ruben Mercadal
Assistant Producer: Connor Hagan
Production: Somesuch
Director: Daniel Wolfe
Documentary Director: Elliott Power
DP: Diego Garcia
Editorial: Cut+Run + The Quarry
Editor: Paul Watts
Assistant Editor: Beau Dickson
Post: The Mill New York
VFX Director: Dan Williams