You may have seen The Gentlemen series on Netflix created by Guy Ritchie. You may also have seen the brand collaboration it did with UAE-based AVANTCHA Tea.
Campaign Middle East sat down with its co-founder and managing partner Marina Rabei, over tea of course.
The tea collection includes two distinct blends, designed to represent two of the main characters in the series.
Majestic Earl Grey, represents Eddie, who is played by Theo James. The second blend is the Chocolate Chilli, which represents the character Freddy, played by Daniel Ings.
Who came up with the idea? You or Netflix?
Netflix approached our UK office regarding the series. They were looking for a tea brand that would fit the show’s trendy and modern theme.
What was the process?
The series showcases British aristocracy, which often includes a lot of tea drinking, as one can imagine. Netflix asked us to create two tea blends representing the series’ main characters.
As the series’ plot was under wraps, we referred to the original movie’s characters as a source of inspiration. We decided to go with a classic blend, Majestic Earl Grey, and one naughty blend, Chocolate Chili, which will encapsulate the temper of the two brothers, Eddie and Freddy.
With the design assets received from Netflix, we created the first round of design ideas and packaging formats. That process underwent a series of revisions until we had the winning packaging design. The next step was producing the physical samples and getting them signed off.
We only had one week between the sample readiness and the video and photo shoot for the subsequent product launch. The samples were approved, and we could send all goods to production. The video shoot occurred at L’Escargot, a French restaurant in London, with the other UK brands participating.
We were invited to the world premiere of “The Gentlemen” in London, where we met the director Guy Ritchie and some of the cast. Over 400 guests at the after-party were treated to tea cocktails designed by our team using our AVANTCHA teas.
How long did it all take?
The entire process took us four months to complete, from start to finish. It was a challenging and intense experience, which sometimes felt like a never-ending marathon. As you can imagine, the design approval process involved many people, and we had to iterate on the design multiple times to make it outstanding and in harmony with The Gentlemen and AVANTCHA’s brand aesthetics.
Despite this, we produced the samples and received approval quickly, which was only one-third of the usual timeline. We are truly grateful to have built strong relationships with our partners, who worked tirelessly round the clock to help us meet our tight deadline.
Is it too early to say what the results have been?
We have received overwhelming compliments and appreciation from our partners and clients. The sales are also great, as we have been receiving orders from all over the world, which is fantastic! Moreover, we have also received a lot of interest in collaborating with other popular series.
It is really rewarding, and we feel very proud to be chosen by Netflix to be associated with The Gentlemen. The process was intense but definitely exciting. Our full team binge-watched the entire series in one weekend; the show is fantastic.
