Spec Campaign · Direction, Concept & Photography: Angélique Georges · Eglantine · 2026
Hero Statement
Magic hour is golden light, lingering conversations, the ease of a long afternoon. The French have built an age-old ritual around this moment. An unhurried gathering, reliably repeated as the day turns to evening, marked by a magical drink that transforms in the glass the way the hour transforms our world. This campaign is my translation of that ritual, that transformation, for an American audience, by someone who grew up inside it.
Concept
This campaign re-introduces Ricard Pastis to an American audience. An invitation to experience l’heure de l’apéro: the French ritual of the aperitif, in a new, refreshing way: Turning Happy Hour into Magic Hour.
At the center of the campaign is the louche: the moment when water meets pastis and the liquid transforms from deep amber gold to something luminous and opalescent. The Magic! The drink transforms in your hand. And in taking part in this ritual, something in you transforms too.
The visual world is golden, tactile, and unhurried. Ice sweating in afternoon light. The geometry of star anise on dry sand. A hand passing a glass across a split field of yellow and blue. Warm to cool, before to after, one person inviting another into the magic. This campaign asks us to slow down just by watching it.
Production
Ricard: Magic Hour was conceived, shot, and directed by one person in a Williamsburg studio: a living space transformed into a production environment for each shoot day. The stop motion sequences, practical lighting, and handmade setups are part of the story: The Human Element. Every frame was made by a human being who conceived of and took care in every detail within it.