Inherent Vice - Case Study
To promote the film adaptation of Thomas Pynchon’s Inherent Vice - my team and I at Warner Bros. crafted a social campaign that would evoke the 60’s psychedelic Southern California surf scene of the film and the varying themes of the era. We achieved this with social media creative focusing on the film’s ensemble cast and tapping the film’s visual aesthetic including a vibrant tapestry of colors and accented it all with the film’s neon visuals. Finally, to launch the film and give fans a chance to immerse themselves in the world of 60’s psychedelia, we partnered with the Ace Hotel group to tap their network of artists to create art shows in 3 Ace Hotel properties worldwide (LA, NYC & London Shoreditch).
The film’s score (composed by Jonny Greenwood of Radiohead) was also available as an in-room exclusive vinyl collectible that hotel guests could take home from the 3 Ace Properties. The Ace Hotel partnership also saw coverage generated in outlets such as Vanity Fair, Travel + Leisure, VICE, Refinery 29, Juxtapoz, New York Observer, NOWNESS, PAPERMAG and The HUNDREDS.
The LA show featured a collection of pieces depicting Contemporary Psychedelia with pieces from artists The Haas Brothers, Steven Harrington, Alia Penner, Travis Millard, Lili Lakich and Dustin Stanton as well as a custom piece from surf-art icon John Van Hamersveld (creator of the iconic ‘The Endlesss Summer’ poster).
The New York show - “What’s The Alternative?” featured mind-bending modern alternative art pieces curated by Jonah Freeman & Justin Lowe accompanied by live music performances. The London Shoreditch Art show with performance artists. The Joshua Lightshow featured a custom light show remixed with Jonny Greenwood’s film score that saw the hotel’s event space converted into a living lava lamp for one night only.
The film also screened to fans, tastemakers, hotel guests and press at The Theater @ Ace Los Angeles while the galleries were also visited by celebrities such as Kanye West, director Spike Jonze, musician Devendra Banhart, actress Molly Ringwald, and musician M83.
