“We like to innovate and try new ways of storytelling,” Leroi said. “We wanted something entertaining, allowing consumers to follow Harrison on his journey in discovering Scotland and interacting with the staff at the distillery.”

Cast members are real-life employees, not actors, with Ford taking on the role of mentor and informal coach for his distillery artisan co-stars, Leroi said.

With decades of seminal film work on his CV, Ford is having a moment as a recent Golden Globe nominee for the Apple TV+ dramedy Shrinking and a lead role in Yellowstone prequel 1923. He will join the Marvel Cinematic Universe as Red Hulk in the upcoming superhero flick Captain America: Brave New World.

He starred in a popular Amazon Super Bowl ad from 2019, but his commercial list is short.

Joel Edgerton, actor and filmmaker, directs the series as his first major advertising foray, in partnership with the brand’s creative director Justin O’Shea and production agency Bandits. 

‘Off the leash’

Both Ford and Edgerton found it appealing that they would have a wide berth on developing the content, per Glenmorangie, which provided a transcript of a conversation between the two men.

Ford as a tough guy doing macho things like riding horses and flying planes would be too cliche, they said. But poking holes in that persona was fertile ground.

“We had lots of opportunity to noodle around—nobody stopped us,” said Ford, noting that he was glad to “take the piss out of himself.”

“I think it’s fun to not be as structured or ‘strictured’ as a commercial,” he said.

Edgerton said, simply: “They let us off the leash.”

The campaign’s worldwide media plan spans online video, connected TV, out-of-home, experiential and social platforms in key markets such as the U.S., the U.K, Germany, Japan, and South Africa. The first six episodes drop this week, with the rest planned for the coming months.