Gravity Road and Hotel Chocolat harness the power of generative AI

Hotel Chocolat has unveiled a new creative platform to promote its Velvetiser drinking chocolate system, by harnessing the power of generative AI.

The new campaign, created by Gravity Road, combines human creativity with Gen AI technology to take audiences on a playful journey into the very heart of the Hotel Chocolat brand story.

'Velvetise into Happiness' uses sensorial triggers in an animation which takes the viewer on a magical journey through a series of fantastical landscapes, mirroring the unique experience of making the perfect cup of drinking chocolate.

To visualise this world, Gravity Road harnessed the latest Gen AI tools throughout the creative and production process, training models on various visual aspects of the Hotel Chocolat brand - from owned photography and product designs, through to the brand’s real world cacao farm on the island of Saint Lucia in the Caribbean.

The result is a moment of total escapism, as viewers watch the Velvetiser meld flakes of real chocolate and milk into the perfect cup of drinking chocolate, while traveling through a fantastical version of chocolate’s home in nature, with lush tropical cacao groves and a chocolate river.

The GenAI tools were integrated with more conventional forms of CGI to generate the animated TV film and digital assets. This blend of AI-inspired animation takes viewers into a unique 'world of happiness and escapism', culminating in the Velvetiser pouring out a delicious cup of velvety smooth hot chocolate.

Hotel Chocolat Chief Marketing Officer, Lynne Ormrod said: “It’s exciting to finally be able to bring to life the escapist journey you experience with our chocolate. Our role is to make people and nature happy through reinventing chocolate. With this work we've loved being able to use Gen AI tools and CGI to bring to life how it feels to both make the drinking chocolate with the Velvetiser and the anticipation of tasting it. A velvety smooth cup of drinking chocolate is the epitome of chocolate happiness!”

Gravity Road founder, Mark Eaves added: “Velvetise into Happiness is all about the journey towards sensorial pleasure that comes from the Velvetiser’s perfect cup of drinking chocolate. We wanted to bring to life the feeling of escapism you experience in anticipation of an incredible cup of velvetised chocolate happiness, whilst waiting for the Velvetiser to work its magic. Gen AI tools allowed us to do this in dynamic new ways - the mesmerising nature of these models was perfect for inspiring escapist, and slightly surreal visualisations of the taste journey.”

Through a partnership deal brokered by Gravity Road, the campaign will air across the ITV network and ITVx platform, featuring in the Rugby World Cup coverage as well as key entertainment programming. It is also being activated across in-store marketing and digital amplification.

Credits

Hotel Chocolat Credits

Emma Durkin - Marketing Lead, Brands, Campaigns & Media Sarah Kilmartin - Head of Brand & Growth Marketing

Gravity Road Credits

Sophie Cullinane - Creative Partner Matt Verity - Creative Director Douglas Bowen - Creative

Camille Hanish-Oakes - Producer Paul Burke - Producer

Katie Farmer - Global Head of Production Rosie Hart - Head of Account Management Sophie Chay-Baker - Senior Account Director Lauren Streetley - Senior Account Executive Ruairi Curran - Executive Strategy Director Mike Florence - Global Head of Planning Chris Magniac - Connections Planner

Charles Diable - In-House Post Production Lead UK Media - Gravity Road

Working alongside Curious Productions