Hip hop icon and successful entrepreneur Pharrell Williams is now the new face of Smirnoff vodka’s newest ad campaign. After the launch of his own liquor, Qream, The Smirnoff Co. has secured an exclusive collaboration with Williams, who is being featured in a new TV and online advertising campaign created specifically for the Australian market.

In addition to airing the commercial nationally online and on TV, fans and consumers will be able to access exclusive behind-the-scenes content from the Smirnoff Australia Facebook page, including footage from the shoot and interviews with Smirnoff’s marketing manager, Pharrell, and other musicians involved in the TV spot.

Pharrell, who has made a name as one of the world’s premier collaborators, had a firm lead on all aspects of the campaign and takes the consumer behind the creative process of his mixes, explaining how the best music can only be made if the artist begins with a pure, blank canvas.

The commercial features the N.E.R.D. song “Truth or Dare” and Pharrell explains as he layers elements to create the perfectly mixed finished product. The inspiration behind the process ties in with the product as it stems from the way a bartender mixes a drink by starting with pure Smirnoff Vodka and adding components to make that perfect drink.

Nicole Stanners, marketing manager for Smirnoff, explained, “We wanted to show consumers how Smirnoff, the purest vodka, makes great tasting mixed drinks, in the same way Pharrell mixes a great music track. By using the metaphor of Pharrell’s mind as a blank canvas, we were able to convey this message in a simple, yet imaginative way.”

Another feature of the campaign allows smartphone owners to use the Shazam app – which deciphers the song information by listening to it through the phone – to access additional footage and more information on the campaign from an exclusive micro website, a first for a TV commercial in Australia.

Check out Pharrell’s new commercial for Smirnoff on YouTube by clicking here.

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