Red Bull: The Hellfire Club

by Gary Knox

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For 2008, Red Bull decided to make drastic changes to their festival activity, reverting from their traditional, high octane, extreme sports displays at events such as Download, and developing individual presences for each location that reflect the brands values and essence.

At Hydro Connect Festival in Inverarary, Scotland, Amplify had the opportunity to create a relevant, bespoke brand presence for Red Bull which would aid the development of relationships with customers, raise awareness of the product range, drive sales and create a feeling of decadence without exclusivity.

In order to ensure Amplify delivered all the Red Bull brand values, we first explored a central idea that could be developed into an execution form. This allowed the addition of the individual festival nuances whilst maintaining an element of consistency and a strong link back to brand and product.

Red Bull Rebellion

Red Bull Rebellion was the overriding thought behind Amplify’s execution ideas. It was about rebellion for positive reasons, about kicking back against the norm, challenging tradition and expectations and breaking new ground for the benefit of fun and entertainment. No iconic figure has ever evolved by following the pack and no new scene or major social change has come about without rebellion.

We were not talking war, we were talking fun, we were not asking anyone to follow us, just to be themselves and feel the freedom to do so. Boredom is borne out of repetition; sometimes it’s fun to upset the apple cart.

Amplify focussed on historical rebellious movements, their appropriateness to the drinking experience, a relevant musical genre and, significantly, their relevance to Connect, its location and the history of the area.

Connect, held on the banks of Loch Fyne, Inveraray is steeped in heritage. The famous Loch is the gateway to the Highlands. The castle, whose grounds the festival is held in, dates back to 1720 and a watchtower on the surrounding hillside was used by 14th century warriors as a lookout for the approaching English armies.

These considerations led us to develop the 80s Medieval Banquet where we could borrow from the heritage of site without being twee or patronising. After deciding on the New Romantics theme, further research showed that the movement was borne out of a legendary period of rebellion which covered mid to late 1700s, and fit perfectly with the heritage of the castle.

This period saw the birth of the Hellfire Club, a secret society made up of the most wealthy and connected aristocrats of the time including members of the Royal Family. Like the medieval banquets, the Hellfire Club meetings were magnificently opulent affairs with an emphasis placed on being as debauched as possible through excessive drinking and womanising.

The club motto “Fay ce que Voulres” translates as “Do As Thou Will” – perfectly encapsulating the ethos of Red Bull Rebellion and allowing Amplify virtual free reign to be creative.

The rich and compelling story meant it was possible for Amplify to bring the Hellfire club to life within the surroundings by creating a narrative: The Prince from the castle is hosting his Hellfire Club party within the castle grounds. All the live performances, actors and DJs added to the creation of this atmosphere which was fully embraced by the 25,000 festival-goers over the three days.