Northern Data Group is an AI infrastructure provider; data centers, cloud, GPUs, HPC. A lot of technical B2B terminology. But their brand vision is underpinned by an inspiring ethos that speaks to so much more: Innovation Bravery.
“The Glass Hermit” was ideated by Team Lewis as part of this Innovation Bravery brand campaign. To break the mold of typical B2B marketing and move away from promoting products and services, instead showcasing potential output. The ingenuity that can be achieved when human creativity and cutting-edge technology work hand in hand. An embodiment of the Northern Data brand ethos.
Our creative and marketing team collaborated to build the strategy, with the primary objective being to drive global brand awareness, to demonstrate who Northern Data Group are, what they’re driving forward, and why we should pay attention.
What better way to do that than through the medium of film?
Taking on an executive production role, TEAM LEWIS brought in a best-in-class team to make the film. Oscar-winning production designer Shona Heath was approached in the wake of her success on Poor Things, and because of her embodiment of the Northern Data ethos - brave, innovative, pushing boundaries. TEAM LEWIS also brought on Emmy award-winning production and innovation studio HELO and motion design collective Blind Pig for their award-winning production value, and cutting-edge visual and AI technology.
“The Glass Hermit” was storyboarded based on Shona’s creative vision, and alongside real-time dialogue with a custom-built AI environment. This bespoke LLM (language learning model) was educated entirely on Heath’s own work and select imagery, and functioned as another creative tool in her kit throughout the film’s ideation, filming, and post-production. Having always wanted to create in large-scale glass, AI finally unlocked the ability for her to do that. The finished product, a 60-second film, features a blend of Heath’s experimental filmmaking, and moments through the lens of her own bespoke AI.
The film is fueled by a moving performance from Ruby Gaskell, who plays the enigmatic “Glass Hermit”. Heath’s creative vision takes inspiration from the world around us: the circularity and fluidity of nature; the journey of shell to sand to water to glass; the love we should have for our planet. This inspiration was perfectly aligned with Northern Data’s ethos of sustainability and ensuring that the use of new technology, like AI, has a limited impact on the planet.
“AI has opened a door to other dimensions. It makes sense to me to use it in conjunction with my original ideas, the hand made and human crafted. It is like another color,” says Shona Heath.
The campaign was launched in December 2024 with an out of home campaign in London’s Piccadilly Circus, New York’s Time Square, and LA’s The Moxy, as well as a global digital campaign with WeTransfer, Meta and TikTok. Final production 10 minute “behind the scenes” documentary which showcases the entire creative journey between Heath and Northern Data Group to bring “The Glass Hermit” to life.
“The Glass Hermit” digital campaign achieved over 83 million impressions, across out of home, WeTrasnfer, Meta (Facebook & Instagram), TikTok, YouTube, Cre8ivAI and LinkedIn,
The film performed 10x above benchmarks on WeTransfer, which has a typical VPR of 0.05%, with “The Glass Hermit” performing at 0.59% and a 101.17% OSI.
For the out of home campaign, which had a planned impression figure of approx 23m, we achieved 35m (a 52% increase above forecast).
“The Glass Hermit” was also recognized as “Ad of the Day” by The Drum, and as one of “13 Creative Campaigns to Know About” by AdAge.