Israeli Winery Avoids TV Ad Ban with Smart Branded Content Film 'Wine'

Great Guns director, Tal Zagreba, and McCann Tel Aviv launch a branded content short film for Teperberg Winery.

‘Wine’ is a 14-minute film that tells the story of a disillusioned office worker, ‘Gideon’, who develops an obsession with wine-making after surviving a heart-attack. Following this near-death experience, he decides to rectify his life-long regret of not continuing his late grandfather’s legacy as a winemaker. Gideon’s newfound obsession creates tensions between him and his wife, who doesn’t welcome their house being taken over by wine-making barrels, buckets, and tubes. However, it ends on a touching note as the return of their grown daughter serves as a reminder that family comes first no matter what.

Commissioned by the oldest winery in Israel’s modern history, the short film was devised as a smart solution to circumvent Israeli regulations, which restrict alcohol brands from advertising on TV. McCann Tel Aviv discovered a loophole — that movie trailers are exempt from this rule. By creating a short film for Teperberg Winery rather than a traditional TVC, they were able to premiere the content nationwide in Israel’s biggest cinemas and coyly broadcast trailers for the film during every commercial break on Israel’s most popular television channel. Due to the genius of ‘Wine’, Teperberg Winery became the only alcohol brand freely telling its story (and ‘advertising’ its products) on Israeli TV.

Great Guns Director, Tal Zagreba, comments: “McCann Tel Aviv approached me with an open brief to write and direct a short film dealing with the brand’s two main core values: wine and family. Branded content is my favourite type of project to create because it allows me to combine my most passionate and creative ideas with very subtle brand elements. It was an amazing experience working with Teperberg and McCann — there aren’t many brands and agencies with such a bold but ingenious approach. Everyone was very supportive of my script and gave me the creative freedom I needed. It was a privilege to have this opportunity to create an artistic film for one of the biggest wine brands in Israel.”

Tal based the script on his research of real people who produce homemade wine, and how sudden changes in behaviour can affect family life. Tal and DOP, David Stragmeister, then decided on applying a stylized visual language based on fixed-camera shots to emphasize the coldness between Gideon and his wife as tensions heighten. 

Commenting on the three-day shoot, Tal says: “We were lucky to have a strong ensemble cast invested in diving into the DNA of each character — Alon Neuman, Michal Weinberg, Lihi Kornowski, and Nir Menki really helped bring the project to life. This wouldn’t have been possible without the complete devotion of producers Roi Kurland, Orly Barak and Green Productions — who were able to make magic with the budget. I want give a big shout out to Laura Gregory, Sheridan Thomas and Great Guns for the co-production. It’s always heart-warming to see so many talented people come together to create something beautiful and I’m grateful to everyone involved.”