New Spike Lee spot for Brooklyn Brewery debuts in … the UK?

By Colin Kirkland

It doesn’t get much more Brooklyn than this.

In Brooklyn Brewery’s new brand film, created by Spike DDB, the creative agency started by borough-icon and renowned filmmaker Spike Lee, local model and actress Lake Escobosa struts through familiar scenes — neighborhood chess-players, a bodega with a fluffy cat (and a cameo by brewmaster Garrett Oliver), a friend’s sunny stoop and, eventually, a nighttime block party hosted by Lee himself.

“This is Brooklyn!” Lee shouts into the mic, echoing the ad’s tagline as the crowd swells around him.

The one-minute spot — shot and directed by King She, the husband and wife team of Radha Ganti and Robert Lopuski, through LFR Productions — didn’t premier in the borough, though, or even in the States. The spot began airing in the U.K. on Monday and is set to roll out across Europe on TV, digital, out of home and social media, proving that Brooklyn itself is a global brand.

“As long-time residents of Brooklyn, we were excited about making a film in our backyard,” King She told Campaign. “Brooklyn is a world unto itself, and the borough has an essence that’s unmistakable and infectious.”

The filmmakers set out to embody Brooklyn’s fast-paced yet laid-back vibe by catching Escobosa from different angles, immersed in the space, interacting with everyday characters who add to the borough’s diverse cultural landscape.

In each project, Spike DDB, which Lee started with DDB Worldwide in 1997, sets out to capture the “New Americana,” “the ones who keep culture moving and evolving in a progressive direction,” as Lee describes in the agency’s mission statement, calling Brooklyn “the County of Kings,” home to legends “from Basquiat to Biggie, from Streisand to Stanwyck,” the ones “looking to make their mark on the world.” Spike DDB did not immediately return requests for a comment.

Lee adds that the synergy his agency has with Brooklyn Brewery “is obvious and strong,” calling the microbrewery “a trailblazer of innovation and creativity in the heart of Brooklyn,” committed to bringing “the Brooklyn state of mind to the world.”