The luxury vodka brand Absolut Elyx is bringing the most important ingredient in vodka (water) to those who need it most through a new campaign with nonprofit Water for People.
For every bottle of vodka sold, Absolut Elyx will provide a week's supply of water to people in need, with the goal of providing safe water to 100,000 people in the next five years.
For the launch, Absolut and Naked Communications subsidiary Naked Luxury—a new agency heading up the campaign—recruited a start-studded cast for a three-minute video directed by and starring Portlandia creator Fred Armisen.
The spot, produced by Natasha Lyonne (aka, Nicky from Orange is the New Black), features Armisen casting a number of celebrities—Miles Teller, Tracee Ellis Ross, Taylor Kitsch, Chloe Sevigny, Alia Shawkat, Paul Scheer, comedian George Wallace and musician Aimee Mann—all vying for the role of campaign spokesperson.
The result is a humorous skit that's very Armisen-esque, and gets the point across in a way that's effective and cheap. (Money that Absolut saved from skipping a large production will be donated to Water for People.)
"They wanted to address the issue," said Paul Sevigny, co-managing director of Naked Luxury. "Not guilting people into it. These folks need water, they need sustainable water, and the interesting thing about the Absolut Elyx and Water for People partnership is it's really the first of its kind."
"What we found through our experience though working in this space is what people are missing now is honestly authentic, collaborative pieces," said Anthony Bianco, Naked Luxury's other co-managing director. "Work that is truly collaborative between the talent and the brand. It's not the typical 'Brand pays influencers to say something.' "