Caffeine hit: Taylors of Harrogate’s mesmerising ad

London – Coffee ads typically focus on the enticing aroma of the Java bean, but few acknowledge the effects that a drink containing caffeine can have.

But in a new advertisement for Taylors of Harrogate, agency BMB took exactly that direction with a hallucinogenic mind-trip montage. Set to a rendition of the 19th-century song Listen to the Mockingbird, viewers are taken through a strange world of bizarre mobiles, trippy visuals and at the end, floating bags of Taylors of Harrogate coffee and the words ‘welcome to coffee’. It’s a subtle nod to the effects of caffeine pulsing through the veins, which provides energy – however short-lived – and helps many urbanites make it through the day.

The eerie juxtaposition of the calm song and the strange visuals is well suited to The Polarity Paradox, in which consumers are asking to be pushed and intrigued by brands.