Sean Broughton of Smoke &; Mirrors New York (SMNY) leads a team of artists in a humorous four spot campaign for Jose Cuervo, via JWT. Each spot is a sarcastically approached lesson in Living Notoriously Well with Jose Cuervo, all enclosed in an extravagantly ornamented, bound tomb.

Serving as the example for the notoriously living, an attractive baller-type impresses his friends simply by reaping the benefits of a false title-senator-in the :30 Be Yourself, a vital lesson.

Knowing When observes our resident notorious man applying referential rules to his disreputable lifestyle. No drinks before riding his horse, depositing a fake watch as a false tip to a waiter and snatching food off moving trays as if he were entitled.

It appears, in Negotiation, that impersonation is a fundamental component of living notoriously, as we see the familiar gentleman claim to be Burt Reynolds and utilizing confidence as a shield against skeptics.

In Roulette we exhibit the devious ways of our notorious man as he cons his way out of paying a dinner tab, and his subsequent exit as his counterparts discover his trickery.

Lead flame artist Kirk Balden seamlessly composited a product entirely generated in CG for the opening shots of this campaign. CG Lead Steve Parish and the 3D team worked their magic in creating totally photo realistic bottles to an amazing standard.

About Smoke & Mirrors
New York and London-based design, animation and VFX studio, Smoke & Mirrors was founded by Creative Director/VFX Artist Sean Broughton (NY), Penny Verbe (UK) and Mark Wildig (UK). A creative and artist-driven company synonymous with vision and originality since its inception, Smoke & Mirrors has consistently succeeded because of its collaborative approach and ability to build lasting creative relationships with directors, producers, agencies and clients alike.

The Creds:
Client: Jose Cuervo
Spot Title: Be Yourself, Knowing When, Negotiation, Check Roulette
Air Date: January 2009

Agency: JWT
Co-President: Ty Montague
COO: Harvey Marco
Production Assistant: Alex Duncan
Production Manager: Judy Brazong
Dir. Broadcast Talent: Jamie Whitfield
Talent Manager: Lisa Schieder
Dir. Integrated Productions: Clair Grupp
Dir. Broadcast Production & Content: Joe Calabrese
Global Business Director: Sophie Kelly
Account Director: Judson Whigham
CD: Matt Macdonald
AD: Anthony Chelette
Copywriter: Chris Plehal
Producer: Jennifer Mastrorilli

Prod Company: Smith and Jones
Director: Ulf Johansson
EP: Phillipa Smith

Post/Effects: Smoke &; Mirrors/NY
CD: Sean Broughton
Lead VFX Artist: Kirk Balden
CG Artist(s): Steve Parrish, Serken Ertekin, Wei Louie, Greg Calas
VFX Support Artist(s): Phillip Akka, Sam Caine,
EP: Celest Gilbert
VFX Producer: Paul O’Beirne

Editorial: Peepshow
Editor: Andrew Macarthur
EP: Amy Saunders
Assistant Editor: Naomi Spiro
Producer: Anne Vega

Telecine: Company 3
Colorist: Tim Massick

Sound Design: Alan Friedman
Audio Engineer: Andy Green

Music: The Lodge
Music Producer: Theresa Notartomaso
About SMNY: