Oasis Coffee, a household name for pulverised Greek coffee amongst Greek Australians since the late 1960s is branching out to other cultures in Australia, inviting them to explore the characteristic social ritual in the art of making a perfect Greek coffee.
With the the return of Melbourne Coffee Week, and the Antipodes Festival in Melbourne around the corner, the family owned business, took the opportunity to launch a commercial to entice coffee lovers “to feel a little more Greek”, by learning how to make and enjoy an authentic pulverised style coffee with their family and friends.
Coffee and friends go hand-in-hand for Greeks. And so, it was to their friends and network, that directors Peter Patisteas and Chris Togias, and Foodservice General Manager, Dean Makris turned to, to create an engaging commercial that would capture the unique ritual of opening a packet of Greek coffee and brewing it, to the sound of a Greek song.
Chris Togias asked his childhood friend, musician Pantelis Krestas, to compose the music track, and Dean Makris whose father George also worked for OASIS for 30 years, reconnected with his childhood friend, acclaimed author Ruth Bardis, to invite her to star in the commercial.
Apart from the history they both share with OASIS, Krestas and Bardis are themselves ‘ambassadors’ of the Greek culture, cuisine and music.
Bardis, an acclaimed author and photographer, promotes Greek cuisine through her books. She recently released her third cookbook Simply More Greek. Her previous books, Hellenic Kanella: Memories Made in A Greek Kitchen, and Beyond the Greek Salad: Regional foods from all around Greece have won numerous awards.
Krestas on the other hand is teaching the next generation how to play the bouzouki. He has been involved in the Greek music industry for over 20 years, here in Australia, and abroad, performing in a variety events. He recently released his first EP, “NK compositions”.
The Greek Community of Melbourne, will run the Greek coffee commercial during the Greek Film Festival which takes premieres on Thursday and runs through til 30 October at Melbourne’s Palace Cinema Como and Astor Theatre, as well as in Sydney and in Adelaide, Brisbane and Canberra in November.
See the advertisement here: