NEW YORK, Sept. 18, 2002 – Bombay Sapphire's Sapphire Inspired Films will air on The Independent Film Channel surrounding a special late night film festival in a joint promotion. The "Bombay Sapphire Blue Films Festival" will run Thursday nights for four consecutive weeks beginning on October 3 at 10pm, and will feature top independent films that have a thematically upscale, sophisticated sensuality. The "Sapphire Inspired" short films were customized for IFC and will air to promote the film festival.
The Sapphire Inspire Films were each produced by a different director and focus on the themes of love, sensuality and beauty. The short films, entitled "The Intellectual," by Robert Logevall, and "The Green Shore," an animated piece by Victor Robert, are strikingly different in look, feel and style, but each encompasses the complexity of the Bombay Sapphire experience. Both directors were charged with the challenge of capturing Bombay Sapphire's allure as a spirit, by incorporating some of its inherent contradictory elements in a short film.
Other festival sponsorship elements providing visibility for the Bombay Sapphire brand are 30-second tagged tune-in spots; IFC "Celebrity Rants" with tune-in tags; (editorial pieces in which celebrities are free to share their likes and dislikes), two back cover ads in IFCRant magazine – the consumer magazine for IFC; promotion on the "What's on IFC" section of ifctv.com; and co-branded tune-in e-mails to ifctv.com's opt-in list.
Weekly films in the "Bombay Sapphire Blue Film Festival" will include "The Cook the Thief His Wife & Her Lover," "Prospero's Books," "The Pillow Book" and "The Lover."
"We are very excited about this creative usage of our Sapphire Inspired Films," said Monsell Darville, Group Marketing Director of the Bombay Spirits Company. "The IFC environment is ideally suited to the themes and sophistication of the shorts. About the films themselves, Darville explained, "These Sapphire Inspired Films are our way of branching out from our martini glass print campaign while maintaining the artistic integrity and elegance on which Bombay Sapphire prides itself."
The "Sapphire Inspired" shorts are creative short films all focusing on the director's story and vision. They were commissioned by the Margeotes Fertitta & Partners advertising agency to convey the allure and mystique of the Bombay Sapphire brand.
About Bombay Sapphire
Bombay Sapphire is America's fastest growing super-premium imported gin and was named The Fastest Growing Spirits Brand in the World by Impact International in 2001. The combination of its unique botanical blend, vapour infusion process and authentic British heritage secure Bombay Sapphire as a leader of gins as well as a symbol of style and sophistication. Bombay Sapphire's signature blue bottle has become an icon of elegance, spreading through the spirits category and beyond. Suggested retail prices are $1.99 for the 50mL; $11.99 for the 375mL; $18.69 for the 750mL; $24.99 for the 1L; and $35.99 for the 1.75L. For more information, please visit www.bombaysapphire.com.
The Independent Film Channel (IFC), managed and operated by Bravo Networks, is the first and most widely distributed channel dedicated to independent film presented 24 hours a day, uncut and commercial-free. IFC Entertainment, a division of IFC, consists of IFC Productions, a feature film production company; IFC Films, a theatrical film distribution company; and IFC Originals, which produces cutting-edge original programming for the network. In addition, IFC Productions launched InDigEnt, an initiative that helps established filmmakers shoot productions on digital video.