Bulleit Says You Have More Drinking Buddies at Home Than You Realize

Drinking alone isn’t fun, especially when you’re trapped in lockdown, missing your bar buddies.

But even if you can’t find a human companion to share Diageo’s Bulleit bourbon, you still have options, as we learn in this cheeky :60 from Anomaly:

That’s right, “Charlie,” “Bobby,” “Mike,” “Zooey,” “Prof. Smith” and the rest are inanimate objects you’d fine around a typical home. Your new pals are wall outlets, radiator grills, hair-trimmers, handbags, speakers, hats, bathroom fixtures, wallets and so forth—cleverly art directed and filmed to accentuate each item’s resemblance to a human face. (“Uncle Cliff”—that’s the mop—looks like he’s had a few already. Pretty soon, he’ll be on the floor.)

The psychological phenomenon called “pareidolia”—where knobs, bolts and zippers can resemble eyes, noses and months—inspired the film. It was shot mainly in the New York home of Anomaly creative director Mark Sarosi, who briefly appears with his wife, Melatan Riden.

Their stuff makes up the rest of the “cast,” along with other face-like items supplied by various Anomaly staffers.

“It started with a rough edit. We did a scratch V.O. on a phone, and the opening and closing scenes were shot on another phone in an apartment,” says Anomaly founding partner and global creative chief Mike Byrne.

Of course, such visual illusions are nothing new. In a way, all marketing is predicated on the notion that merchandise is your friend, and personification to one degree or another runs rampant throughout the ad-sphere.

Here in the Covid-19 era, however, the concept takes on extra dimension. So many folks find themselves suddenly trapped at home, staring at their possessions for hours on end. After a while, ovens, faucets and floppy hats do start taking on lives of their own.

Though amusing, a hint of melancholy lurks just beneath the ad’s jaunty surface. Lots of people are isolated now, and alcohol might seem like … a means of quick, easy escape? Some YouTube commenters concur, though Byrne says he isn’t especially concerned.

“This is a moment of levity,” Byrne tells Muse. “We are not asking you to go find inanimate objects to drink with. We are simply recognizing that this situation is hard and here’s a fun reason to smile about it.”