The Brief
The 60th anniversary film for Juan Valdez, the globally recognized icon of Café de Colombia. Commissioned by McCann Erickson Colombia in 2019. Submitted to Cannes.
Sound researcher Felipe Reinoso from Universidad de los Andes had composed Beyond Taste, a musical piece built on psychoacoustic principles designed to enhance the coffee tasting experience. The ask: make the invisible visible.
The Science
The Bouba Kiki effect demonstrates that the human brain translates certain sounds into organic shapes with lush hues, enhancing sweet notes, and others into sharper geometric forms with earthy tones, enhancing bitter ones.
The film’s visual language was built directly from this principle
Not as an illustration of the science but as an extension of it.
The Approach
The decision was to avoid narrative entirely. A story would compete with the music. Instead the film needed to be contemplative, something that amplified the tasting experience rather than distracted from it.
Colombian coffee regions became the raw material
The film was shot in Colombia, my birth country. I directed Mr. Juan Valdez himself, the living embodiment of six decades of Colombian coffee culture.
The Result
A contemplative film that translates psychoacoustic principles into visual form. An ode to Colombian coffee and magical realism. Submitted to Cannes 2019.
Credits
Client: Café de Colombia
Agency: McCann Erickson Colombia
Production Company: Craft
Creative & Live Action Director: Felipe Posada
Motion Design: Luscious Studios
Sound Director & Researcher: Felipe Reinoso
Music Producers: Miguel De Narvaez, Juan Fernando Fonseca