“Did you know wine can legally contain toxic pesticides, additives, and chemicals without disclosing them on the label?”

Usual Wine made a bold claim: the wine people buy at the grocery store is full of dangerous ingredients they don’t even know about. Usual Wine, on the other hand, only has two ingredients: grapes and water.

The challenge: How do we convince viewers there’s a huge chance that wine they already know and love has unbelievably dangerous ingredients?

The solution: The science was really on our side for this ad. We incorporated a ton of reputable, unbiased studies to show just how unregulated the wine industry is.

My responsibilities as Creative Director:

Writing: To be honest, when I first met with Usual Wines’ CEO I wasn’t 100% convinced. She explained to me that most wine is toxic, and her wine is one of the few out there that isn’t. My immediate reaction was ok, sure, alcohol isn’t necessarily good for you, but are most wines really that bad? Upon further investigation, I was shocked. There is endless research online detailing just how bad the situation is. Just to name a few examples: 300 different pesticides are legally allowed to be in wine, with no restrictions on the amount. Some legal ingredients are linked to cancer, infertility, and Parkinsons. 76 additives are legally allowed, many of which are toxic, and none of which are legally required to be disclosed on the label. Writing this script came down to picking the most shocking and impactful studies out there - the science really spoke volumes. Since the research within the script is a bit grim, I opted for a matter-of-fact tone instead of over-committing to the negativity of the situation.

Visuals: The script on its own is a bit jarring since there’s so much talk of toxicity, cancer, and chemicals. To balance that out (and not be overkill on the grim vibe) I created a soft, dreamy set aesthetic. The ASMR-esque montages play into the science theme, and give the ad a visual break between heavy facts. I like how this balance turned out: the script could still be serious and matter of fact, and the visuals brought a softer edge.

Post-production feedback: I gave detailed feedback to our editor to help ensure the cut reflected what was intended in the script. For this ad in particular, we paid special attention to those bursts of montages, typography, and motion graphics. During post, we really needed to pay attention to that balance between educating people on the wine industry without being too doom and gloom. That meant picking the right music, choosing a friendly font, and erring on the side of beautifully crafted motion graphics while saying some pretty sad things.