Roman manors, romantic flower rain, noble peacocks, gorgeous jewelry... In the new brand film "Unexpected Wonders Wonders Miracles" released by Italian fine jewelry brand BVLGARI, two elegant women accompany these beautiful images to embark on a romantic journey to discover pure beauty in the "Eternal City" of Rome.
Directed by Paolo Sorrentino, the "new godfather" of today's Italian cinema, and starring brand ambassadors Anne Hathaway and Zendaya as dual lead actors, the film presents a visual feast for the audience with Paul Sorrentino's distinctive shooting style.
The Oscar-like star lineup and picture effect have won the admiration of Chinese audiences, and netizens have commented: "What is this fairy advertisement", "beautiful, strong and powerful combination", "Thank you Bulgari"!
On the surface, the star directors and cast of this film are very eye-catching; At a deep level, the content of the film strongly exports the brand culture and genes, and gives it a new interpretation in the contemporary context, forming a new round of spiritual resonance with the audience.
How exactly does Bulgari convey a brand image that has kept pace with the times through a film, and talk to global consumers in different cultural circles? What inspiration will it create a compelling narrative for luxury brands?
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Rome – the brand's greatest source of inspiration
"Unexpected Wonders Surprise Wonders" was set in the "Eternal City" of Rome, where Bulgari was born in 1884. If you want to explore bulgari's brand culture roots, it must be deeply rooted in the city. Nicola Bulgari, the third generation of the Bulgari family, wrote in his autobiography: "Whether it is now or in the future, Rome will always be Bulgari's greatest source of inspiration." ”
The source of Inspiration for Roma in Bulgari extends from product creation to all aspects. Bulgari B.zero1 jewelry is inspired by the Colosseum, while the Serpenti collection's moving curves echo the iconic curved steps of Piazza di Spagna... Bulgari celebrates The birthday of Rome, April 21, and has sponsored the restoration of the Spanish Steps, the Baths of Caracalla and the Monumental Plaza del Silver Tower.
Above: Serpenti series (left) and B.zero1 series (right)
As one of the world's most famous historical and cultural cities, Rome has a glorious history of more than 2,700 years, and still retains a fairly complete Renaissance and Baroque style, as well as ubiquitous Roman ruins. In 1980, Rome's historic district was listed as a World Heritage Site. Through many classic film works, Rome has long become a beautiful symbol in the hearts of Chinese audiences.
Paulo Sorrentino, who directed the film, is known as the "new godfather of Italian cinema today", and he won the Academy Award for Foreign Language Film and the Golden Globe for "The City of Beauty". "The City of Beauty" tells the story of Rome, high-class people, tourists, dancers, magicians... People of all stripes roam the area, exploring the meaning of life in different ways, setting off the antiquity and grandeur of the city of Rome. (Sorrentino is also the producer of the hit Italian drama "My Genius Girlfriend"))
The city is not only an important source of inspiration for the brand, but for a century-old brand, the spirit of the city has long been closely integrated with the brand culture over the years and has become part of the brand's equity. Through Paulo Sorrentino's insights and new interpretations of Rome, Bulgari's brand equity has been enriched and strengthened, and the abstract connection between Rome and Bulgari has become clearer, more figurative and fuller.
Through "Unexpected Wonders Surprise Miracle", Bulgari has further strengthened the connection between the brand and Rome in the minds of audiences around the world, including Chinese audiences, so that the brand image is superimposed with vivid urban scenes and humanistic temperament, and in the subtle, Chinese audiences have formed a broader association and deep memory point for the brand.
Film – a medium of communication rooted in the dna of a brand
Women are Bulgari's muses. In "Unexpected Wonders Surprises miracles", Anne Hathaway and Zandaj explore the stunning landscapes of Rome, wearing bulgari jewels and dancing in a magnificent palace under a magical rain of flowers. With a cinematic aesthetic style that combines hyperrealism and surrealism, Paolo Sorrentino shows the delicate emotions of women's authenticity and the female power of the new era.
This time, Bulgari did not choose the conventional narrative methods such as flat shooting and outdoor blockbusters, but from the perspective of an Italian director, she outlined the scene of women exploring Rome. This form of expression stems first of all from the indissoluble relationship between the brand itself and the art of film. "Bulgari is associated with cinema in Rome, and cinema is a modern art, so we believe that cinema and art are deeply rooted in Bulgari's DNA." Bulgari CEO Jean-Christophe Babin said in an interview with Magnificent.
In the 1950s and 1960s, when the Italian "La Dolce Vita" trend was popular, many talented filmmakers gathered in Rome, home to The Cinecittà Film City, the largest film and television production base in Italy, and many of the best films in the film industry were born. Bulgari can be described as a witness to this grand scene, colliding with many film history superstars such as Elizabeth Taylor and Audrey Hepburn in more than 40 films, leaving a classic screen image.
Luxury brands have always been excellent storytellers and content creators, and films with more visual impact and immersion have become a very important medium form of brand narrative than the graphic communication of information unilaterally conveyed to consumers. Film is a window to the world, no matter who you are, where you are, you can be in a movie and travel in different scenes, personally experience the experience and passion of others.
Through cooperation with the world's top creative talents, the brand allows directors and artists to integrate their own understanding of brand culture into their works, so that consumers have the opportunity to feel, experience and even refresh their understanding of the brand through more diversified forms such as movies and more professional perspectives such as art lenses. It is worth mentioning that Paulo Sorrentino has a long relationship with Bulgari, who presented the film "The Dream" for the opening of DOMVS in 2014, and has an in-depth study of Bulgari's brand history. DOMVS is a permanent space showcasing the evolution of the Bulgari brand, located on the second floor of the Bulgari Boutique on Via Condotti in Rome.
In addition, the film itself has a large and loyal audience base, after the epidemic, people have less opportunities to enter the theater to watch movies, Bulgari at this time to present a sincere work from the lineup to the visual is extremely enjoyable, but also attracted the attention and recognition of many passers-by film fans. A netizen commented on Weibo: "It is difficult to say clearly for a while whether the language of Paul Sorrentino's lens is more beautiful, or whether the two actors Anne Hathaway and Zaandaa are more beautiful." "When the audience resonates with these films and works of art, it will naturally also identify with the brand culture."
"Feeling the joy of life" - a contemporary interpretation of the brand spirit
According to the just-released "Italian Fashion Brands in China" research report, Bulgari ranked first in the selection of the most popular Italian fashion brands among Chinese consumers, which is inseparable from Bulgari's sincere dialogue with The continuous efforts and innovative spirit of Chinese consumers.
Bulgari said: "'Unexpected Wonders Surprise Miracle' is not so much an advertising blockbuster as a warm invitation to fully appreciate the joys of the little things in life. The little things can make the extraordinary. Through such a heart-warming signal, Bulgari responded to the daily life of people today.
The release of the film coincides with the late stage of China's epidemic control, "feeling the joy brought by the small things in life", especially in line with the spiritual world of current consumers. The travel scene is limited, the travel radius is greatly shortened, and although most Chinese consumers cannot go to Rome for a while, this film leads everyone to recall the joy of travel in the past. Sunshine, flowers, old photos... The film depicts many beautiful things that are within reach of us, and it reminds everyone to raise their spirits to explore the small beauty that is everywhere in life, and to rekindle the spiritual motivation to pursue beauty from the here and now, starting from the present moment of life.
Before the official launch of the movie, Bulgari's official Weibo released four "clues", which stimulated the audience's association and curiosity with "mantle", "peacock", "flower rain" and "eternal city", and invited the public to interact and solve puzzles together and participate in this "surprise miracle" journey. In the main film, Anne Hathaway and Zandaia, the two heroines, finally reveal their true faces, solve the mystery for the audience, lead the viewers to go back to the past holiday time with the film picture, pay attention to the small luck of the moment around them, and regain the courage to embrace the future. Bulgari also released a number of tidbit videos that reviewed the journey from the perspectives of Paulo Sorrentino, Anne Hathaway and Zandaja, and engaged in a more frank dialogue with the audience.
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Through the trilogy of "Clues-Feature Films-Tidbits", Bulgari brand films have formed a complete communication closed loop on Chinese social media, allowing online audiences to truly participate in this "cloud tour" to some extent, and have become part of this journey. The film received 435,000 views on Weibo alone.
It is worth mentioning that in addition to the films directed by Paulo Sorrentino, Bulgari also invited four outstanding women of different ages, countries and fields to appear in the filming of new advertising campaigns, in addition to Anne Hathaway and Zandaya: Priyanka Chopra Jonas, an Indian actress active in the American film and television circle, and Lisa (Lalisa), a Thai singer in the Korean girl music group BLACKPINK. Such a female lineup also fully reflects Bulgari's celebration of the power of women, the fairness and inclusiveness of its brand values, and the determination to dialogue with diverse consumers around the world.
epilogue
Under the dazzling star lineup of Paulo Sorrentino, Anne Hathaway, Zandaya and so on, Bulgari has connected important elements of brand history and brand culture with the brand film "Unexpected Wonders Surprise Miracle" and a new interpretation of the contemporary brand spirit, so that audiences around the world, including Chinese, can form a deep understanding of their brand image with an extremely pleasant sensory experience, and get spiritual inspiration in an online interactive "cloud tour" journey.
For excellent brand narratives, the eye-catching star lineup is only superficial, and under the gorgeous coat, consumers really want to see content output with depth and temperature.