Most anniversaries translate to social gatherings — whether family members, friends, or colleagues, people attend such events to celebrate someone special in their lives over dinner, a cake, or a pint of beer. It is during such occasions that attendees become nostalgic and let themselves be carried to the past times, “traveling” either by using memories their minds stored throughout time or by tapping into old photographs.
To tell its 150-year-old story, Staropramen asked the award-winning branding and design agency Cocoon to brew an album that chronicles the brand’s adventures right from its very beginnings. During this week’s #ThrowBrandThursday, we are traveling back to 1869 (the year the brand was born) and invite our readers to join us in this journey as well, as the way that the story is narrated is one to remember for a long time.
Upon opening the “Hidden Archives of Staropramen” photo album, the viewers can catch a glimpse at the brand’s past, discovering interesting things about the company by admiring a series of historical photos. But these are no ordinary images, as each of them comes to life, making the journey back in time feel more authentic.
The Prague-based agency invested a lot of time and work in giving static illustrations a dynamic meaning so the public can actually be able to hear and see how Staropramen’s story unfolded over time. The process was long and meticulous and required the team’s attention in carefully analyzing hundreds and hundreds of old photos and old labels as well.
Coupled with messages that narrate key moments in the brewery’s history and developing storyboards to fit Staropramen’s historical past, the team got a few steps closer to the purpose they intended. “What was this purpose? To animate the photographs and make them literally come alive,” we find out from the agency’s website.
In giving each photograph a life of its own, Cocoon teamed up with Silencio VFX studio, which was in charge of handling the animation phase. “All images were digitally “deconstructed” and wire-framed, 3D models were created, extra footage had to be filmed on green-screen, and a lot of rendering, crafting, perfecting, and tuning happened to make every image move and breathe with the authentic atmosphere of the times when it was taken,” the team explains.
The “Hidden Archives” kept the Cocoon members busy for a while but the work finally paid off: Developed mainly for social media, the story was narrated in short formats, with every single detail in the videos working towards fulfilling its noble mission of sharing the remarkable past of the brewery, its people, and its beer.
Before raising a glass in honor of the brand, we would like to remind our readers that the “Hidden Archives” — which represents another chapter of the Prague-based agency developed to mark this milestone in the brand’s life — were included within the “Staropramen Multimedia Book” but which, as Cocoon explained, deserved “a separate story to be told.”
Na zdraví to Staropramen and Cocoon, for enabling beer-enthusiasts to discover the events that have helped the company turn into the brewery that it is today!
Credits:
Client: Staropramen
Agency: Cocoon
VFX: Silencio