Red Stripe was a Diageo brand and, previous to our work, was sold on Jamaican clichés – easy going, Caribbean beach life. Our perspective: Jamaican life is tough and rewards a ‘make it yourself, build it yourself, do it yourself’ attitude. With that we drew parallels to an audience in the UK that has its own DIY culture to draw from.
From this, the idea of ‘Make with a Red Stripe’ was born; whereby ads were eschewed in favour of projects, which encompassed events, sound system builds and low-fi corner shop takeovers. Awards were won, audiences were won over, Diageo applauded... then sold the brand to Heineken. A win, of sorts.
Project 1: DIY Sound System
We kicked off the project at Red Stripe’s spiritual home, Notting Hill Carnival, where up to a million cans are enjoyed, then discarded. We collected, cleaned, and recycled 10,000 of them, then teamed up with sound artist Yuri Suzuki to build a working sound system using Red Stripe cans, mini speakers soldered inside and, most bizarrely, Ikea lamps for acoustic support. Reggae star Gappy Ranks tested it out before we hit the road with MCs, DJs, and music makers in tow.
Project 2: Street Furniture Space Invaders
Every project targeted a different key city for the beer brand. For this particular choice, we headed to Manchester Town Hall, and worked with street artist Filthy Luker to construct a space invader mural made out of street cones and barriers, accompanied by a lot of up-for-it Mancunians and a making of film for youtube and lots of PR.
Project 3: Art That’s Delivered To You
This project took to the streets, bringing Red Stripe coloured van graffiti to Bristol, Manchester, and London. We worked together with four artists – Sweza, D. Billy, Rose Stallard and Sandrine Boullet – to hand-customise the vans, turning them into mobile artworks. These rolling canvases parked outside pubs, serving up cans of Red Stripe and inviting people to engage with the art, including giant working guitar pedals, karaoke mics you could plug your phone into, CCTV installations, and other playful, DIY creations.
Project 3: An Ode to Reggae’s
Experimental Past
We enlisted Edinburgh artist Mike Inglis (aka Spaceboy) to transform the shutters of Newhaven fishmarket into a 150-metre-long stop motion animation. Working with students from Edinburgh College of Art and Blac Ionica, he brought his DIY illustrations to life as a tribute to 1970s Jamaican tape-splicing recording culture from Black Ark Studio and the likes of Lee Scratch Perry and King Tubby.
Project 4: Makers of Notting Hill Carnival
Back to the Carnival for this one, celebrating the true makers of the event, from steel drummers to Norman Kay. Taking the shots: legendary photographer Pennie Smith, best known for her iconic image on The Clash’s London Calling album, and for capturing nearly every era of music, from Led Zeppelin to Oasis.
Project 5: A Message To You, Played by a Corner Shop
This viral film transformed a corner shop into a giant, playable musical instrument. Working with a creative technologist and Stink Films, we rigged the store so that whenever someone selected a bottle or can of Red Stripe from the fridge, the shop came alive. Everyday products were hacked in gloriously chaotic DIY fashion to perform the rocksteady classic "Rudy, A Message to You" by Dandy Livingstone (later made famous by The Specials).