Baz Luhrmann Leads a Campaign That Sees Creativity in Everything

The world is a gallery.

That’s the pitch behind Bombay Sapphire’s latest, created by AMV BBDO in partnership with Baz Luhrmann, who last graced us with a big-banner Elvis biopic. Maybe more relevantly, a few decades ago he created a musical rendition of Mary Schmich’s famous piece, best known as “Wear Sunscreen,” which, for many, marked the first time we ever heard Lurhmann’s voice.

“The World Is a Gallery” is part of Bombay Sapphire’s “Saw This, Made This” campaign, an invitation to see the world as a gallery of creative inspiration. Lurhmann serves as creative director.

The film below was directed by Juan Cabral. Images were shot in his home city of Buenos Aires, with narration by Lurhmann. “I saw a blue empty bedroom. I saw, in a closet, a terrestrial globe between two mirrors that multiplied it endlessly,” he muses in one moment. The work is inspired by Jorge Luis Borges’ 1945 short story “The Aleph,” and the narration adapts some of its text. 

“Working with Bombay Sapphire on ‘Saw This Made This’ alongside Baz Luhrmann has been an incredible journey,” says Cabral. “With our collective passion for storytelling and turning everyday moments into something extraordinary, we hope to inspire people to reframe the way we see the world.”

According to AMV BBDO, the campaign draws credence from the belief that creativity is the world’s most-pursued trait. They helpfully linked to this as evidence, though this—which they also linked to—is more to the point: Creativity doesn’t only help you look at life differently, it helps you approach living differently. Luhrmann hopes to issue a creative call-to-arms that invites people to channel their own creative force, first by recognizing that it’s everywhere.

“I truly believe that everyone is inherently creative, no matter who you are, where you come from or what you do,” Luhrmann says. “You don’t have to be labeled an artist to be considered a creative. If you just give yourself permission to see the world as a gallery of inspiration and reframe how you think about things, you’ll unlock a part of yourself you didn’t know existed.” 

He adds that the Bombay Sapphire partnership aspires to “encourage people everywhere to think about how they can turn the ordinary into the extraordinary and share this inspiration to make the world a more creatively nurturing place.”

The campaign will roll out across ten markets: The U.S., U.K., Spain, Italy, Germany, Australia, New Zealand, Brazil, Greece and the Netherlands. Throughout its life, Luhrmann will use social media to share #SawThisMadeThis submissions he finds inspiring. Those submissions will also appear in an evolving online gallery.

In 2023, “Saw This, Made This” will culminate in a global creativity showcase, in partnership with arts organizations in London and New York, including the Design Museum in London. This will happen during World Creativity Day in April.

“For over 30 years, Bombay Sapphire has collaborated with creators and artists with the purpose of giving support to and building a platform for creative self-expression,” says Natasha Curtin, the brand’s global vice president. “We are thrilled to be collaborating with incredible, visionary creative champions on our latest mission to stir creativity in people around the world. Like Baz and Juan, we believe in the importance of creativity—it is an essential part of what makes us human. With this campaign, we set out to show that creative inspiration is everywhere and to encourage people to reconnect with their own creative side.”

CREDITS

Client: Bacardi
Brand: Bombay Sapphire
Campaign title: Saw This Made This
Client name: Natasha Curtin and Richard Cuthbert
Creative Agency: AMV BBDO
CCO: Nicholas Hulley and Nadja Lossgott
Creative Director: Michael Jones and Thomas Hazledine
Creative team: Jack Smedley and George Hackforth-Jones
Social creative team: Mat Scholes, Piet Rossouw, Ant Eagle and Kalle Everland
Design team: Chris Chapman, Simon Dilks and Marion Rossignol
Agency Planning Team: Suzanne Barker and Marina Glavan
Agency Account Team: Alistair Nichols, Jamie Pettigrew and Ella Fanshawe
Agency Producers: Verity Elvin, Meg Everett and Charlotte Igharo
Social manager: Lupe Baeyens
Project Manager: Lucy Farmer
Business Affairs: Michelle Holmes, Cate Killeen
Production Company: MJZ
Film Director: Juan Cabral
Production Co. Producer: Nicola Dempsey
Production Co. Executive Producer: Dickie Jeffares
Editing Company: The Whitehouse Post
Editor: Russell Icke
Post-production Company: Rohtau
Sound studio: 750 MPH
Audio Post-production: Sam Ashwell @ 750MPH
Music Production: Pete Raeburn @ Soundtree
PR agency: Ogilvy PR UK
PR Account Team: Jenny McCoubrey, Helen Doyle and Georgia Dwyer
Media agency: OMD UK
Media planner: Natalie Fernandes and Ella Thornborough