And no one would have thought that the idea for the above spot would have come from one drunken night out in the balcony of our then office in downtown Karama in Dubai, in the 44 degree heat. Secret Tequila shots for one and all and a brainstorm gone just a little out of control and suddenly Vincent Raffray calls out for us all to shut the fuck up because Peter Walker has something to say. “Tell them Pete, tell them your idea,” Vince coaxes. Cigarette in hand and drink in another, Pete tells his story, with his Barry Gibb grin and in his signature low, deadpan voice. Two guys destroy their junky old TV sets by, you know, kicking it against the wall. Huh? By that time we’d already had a drink too many. Silence was proceeded with cheer. That’s fucking brilliant Pete, Arnaud proclaims. We all nodded. But would Sony buy this? Maybe, we all thought then, after all it was barely a year before that night that Vincent and Pete scored a gold Cannes Lion for another Sony TV product albeit in the print category.

There in lies that old conundrum: cool ideas can only stay brilliant for a while. For a good few minutes in the desert heat and maybe after another round of drinks before it would have fizzled away, back to Pete’s crazy head where it emerged. Thankfully it took a crazy amount of courage and persuasion to get it made. The result was the above. A spot that ended up finalist and winner in many an advertising awards. But such a happy memory that was, seeing your team mates score big all over the world with a game that was bigger and feverishly anticipated every couple of years. Vincent and Pete oversaw the production of this in their homeland in South Africa all those years back while ruling our creative department. Today Pete still does what he does art directing brilliant work from Cape Town  while Vincent runs the Future Collective, his very own creative agency.

To get in touch with Vincent Raffray and what the Future Collective can offer check this out.

Agency: Tonic Communications Dubai, UAE
Client: Sony Middle East
Product: Wega
Creative Director: Vincent Raffray
Art Director: Peter Walker
Copywriter: Vincent Raffray
Account Manager: Arnaud Verchere
Marketing Manager: Ryu Fukushima
Production House: Velocity South Africa
Director: Adrian De Sa Garces
Producer: Melina McDonald
Post Production: Refinery South Africa
Visual Effects: Condor South Africa

And if you’re keen to see how this was made. Check out the clip below. And yes, an actual television set was harmed (destroyed completely actually) but not at the actual filming: for the sound effects recording instead!