Seemingly out of nowhere, whisky brand The Glenlivet has popped up with a genuinely thrilling ad.

Its ‘Original by Tradition’ spot starts in Glenlivet Valley, 1824, where a sweaty distiller watches the brand’s first drop of single malt form. Then bam! His hut breaks apart and suddenly we’re in a Prohibition-era speakeasy. Our protagonist is now a moustachioed barkeep, but another explosion sees him transform into a glamorous 1960s woman, smashing the idea that whisky is a man’s drink. A 1980s businesswoman crushes the ‘drink it neat’ myth before we finally reach modern times.

The female focus is interesting – Haig Club’s most recent ad also features a convention-defying woman, notably – but it’s the seemingly one-shot, one-set aesthetic that really impresses. There’s a smart voiceover and a punchy soundtrack, too. Smashing!

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