Motorhead’s Lemmy stars in posthumous TV milk advert
Motorhead frontman Ian “Lemmy” Kilmister starred in a TV advert promoting milk, recorded less than one month before he died.
Lemmy, most famous for the hit The Ace of Spades, died aged 70 on 28 December in Los Angeles, USA, two days after being diagnosed with an aggressive form of cancer.
The ad begins with a lingering external shot of a moody downtown bar and gas station at night, from which Lemmy exits and walks with the aid of his trademark cane.
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He stops, the camera zooms in, and Lemmy turns to the viewer and says bluntly: “I don’t drink milk, and never will” before adding “you ass***e” and raising a wry smile.
The end-line copy says “Ian ‘Lemmy’ Kilmister 1945-2015”, followed by “We raise our glasses to you”.
Milk is seen poured into a glass and the rousing Blue Danube Waltz crescendos as “Valio Milk from Finland” copy closes the spot.
The 40-second clip was created by ad agency Hasan & Partners for Finnish dairy Valio. It was released on YouTube on Friday (8 January) and had already been viewed 150,000 times by the afternoon.
The ad was made on location in Maunula, Finland, close to Hartwall Arena where Motörhead performed shortly after the shoot on 6 December.
Jussi Lindholm, chief operating officer of Hasan & partners, said: “We were in the middle of post production when the news about Lemmy broke.
“We are profoundly grateful to have worked with him and that Lemmy’s management feel good about the result.
“We discussed not airing the ad but had footage that was not part of the original script, which crystallised Lemmy’s spirit, so we agreed to change it and make a tribute.”
Hanna Savolainen, Valio marketing manager, added: “We were devastated to learn of Lemmy’s passing, but honoured to have collaborated with him. He was great to work with and we feel we’ve captured the essence of his genuine, lively spirit.”
Since his death, fans have launched an online petition to name a new heavy metal periodic element to be named “Lemmium” in his memory
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