George Clooney has been instrumental in building coffee experience at home. Swiss based manufacturer Nespresso had been struggling for 2 decades (talk about vision and persistence) to get the right angle. In 2006, George featured as main ambassador for the first time in their ads. They hit the jackpot. Ever since, all kinds of manufacturers have been creating pod-based machines to get a piece of the action. All of a sudden, coffee became a thing with a leap in quality at home.

Enter beans. Not the comical character that has captivated audiences worldwide. No, actual coffee beans. From all over the world. Ground in a machine at home. Creating an even more sophisticated coffee experience. Even closer to the magic seen in those bistro bars.  But how do you create that magic around that machine of yours? Current and most likely to stay working from home trends will mean more coffee at home as well versus at the office. Coffee machine manufacturers need to shift their focus.

Enter Pitt. Brad Pitt. Not shy to get involved in attaching himself to brands, varying from beer (Heineken) to fragrances (Chanel). Commercials made with extraordinary directors like David Fincher, no expenses spared. Brad now heads up the new De’Longhi coffee machine campaign. In every shot, there is actually someone drinking coffee, literally every shot. To create that tension Brad most likely is feeling as he heads home with the bag of beans he just purchased. But it just goes on. And on. And even further with nice shots. After 40 seconds (!!!) we finally see the De’Longhi machine for the first time.  That basically violates every rule of the game, as there was no tension building up, keeping you on the edge of your seat to see where this story was leading. It’s just there, on the kitchen counter. Brad makes himself a cappuccino and says he likes it. But was this commercial about the beans, about how Brad apparently likes motorcycles? Aren’t you supposed to introduce the brand/ product shortly into the ad, to captivate the audience’s attention?

The first Nespresso ad was actually situated inside a Nespresso store, with 2 ladies basically mentioning all kinds of quality cues about the coffee and then with an amazing actor getting involved in the story and not taking himself that seriously and.. he ends with introducing the famous tagline. Nespresso wins this round I’m afraid. They’ve shown over the years how you master the balancing act of having celebrity endorsement into your commercial messaging. Just inserting a celebrity and having endless “nice shots” with no point whatsoever, your actual product being outperformed by the kitchen and house its filmed in, isn’t the way to go.  

I do hope Brad gets to keep the coffee machine, as he did seem to enjoy his coffee.