JamiroquaiAs the 30th anniversary of Jamiroquai’s hit single (and music video), Virtual Insanity, approaches, a brand selling alcohol-free gin has found an endearing, exciting way to celebrate.
The brand, Beefeater 0.0, has joined forces with Jamiroquai’s Jay Kay and agency Lucky Generals to re-create moments from the iconic music video for Virtual Insanity, originally directed by Jonathan Glazer.
Unlike the 1996 clip, this video ends with Jay Kay reaching his prize; in this case, a bottle of Beefeater 0.0. The new video is part of the brand’s Get More With 0.0 campaign, which highlights the positives of drinking in moderation and spotlighting tasty alcohol-free drinks.
Directed by Julien & Quentin and produced by Magna Studios, revisiting Virtual Insanity could have been done with CGI or AI.
Instead, the production team “built nine practical sets,” utilised choreographed camerawork to capture the moving floors concept, and, once again, physical performances by the Jamiroquai ringleader, honouring the original music video’s use of practical effects.
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Lucky Generals’ chief creative officer Shelley Smoler and chief strategy officer Damien Le Castrec explained of the video concept, per Creative Review, “We thought the 30th anniversary of Virtual Insanity was the perfect moment to finally set Jay Kay free from that little white room.”
Julien & Quentin added, “Stepping onto such sacred pop-culture ground was initially daunting, [but] the opportunity to pay homage to this monument of music history, and offer a surprising modern sequel to it, was incredibly compelling.”
Check out the video below.
Following the release of the original Virtual Insanity music video in August 1996, the clip earned ten nominations and won four awards at the 1997 MTV Video Music Awards, including Breakthrough Video, Best Special Effects, Best Cinematography, and the coveted Video of the Year.
The original video has also since become a meme, with names such as Pitbull, Chris Rock, and its director, Jonathan Glazer, sharing parodies.
Jamiroquai last visited Australia in October 2023 – their first show in the country since 2011 – when the group co-headlined that year’s Harvest Rock Festival in Adelaide alongside Beck. The Music’s Michael Prebeg said of the set:
We go way back to 1993 with their first-ever track, When You Gonna Learn. The performance includes a didgeridoo from a First Nations musician to pay respect to the traditional custodians of the land we’re partying on.
They leave most of their biggest hits to the last half hour of the set, including Cosmic Girl, Canned Heat, Love Foolosophy and Virtual Insanity to finish. Jay Kay reveals they’re going back into the studio and promises they’ll come back again soon and stay longer next time.
