Holiday hosting rule # 1: never run out of Tito’s Handmade Vodka.
Directed by Andrew Ryan Shepherd and cut by Andy McGee.
When Tito’s set out to make a spot that cut through the noise, the idea wasn’t to get louder — it was to get calmer. Director Andrew Ryan Shepherd and the Tito’s creative team built the piece around a simple but resonant concept: in a world full of distractions, Tito’s stays grounded. The VO was smart, restrained, and clearly shaped by a deep understanding of sound and music from the very beginning. Visually, the spot lets chaos swirl around the frame while the bottle holds steady at the center. “The footage is meant to speak very quietly,” Shepherd explains, “while everything around the bottle is doing the opposite.” As the film progresses, that chaos slowly fades away, pulling the viewer closer to Tito’s and reinforcing the idea that the bottle is the truth- the answer – amid the confusion.
From a craft standpoint, the spot was originally conceived as a pure one-take, with all of that movement and meaning unfolding in a single, carefully choreographed shot. As production approached, the client asked for flexibility in the form of potential punch-ins, giving editorial more options without losing the spirit of the idea. Rather than seeing that as a compromise, Shepherd embraced it as a creative challenge. Camera movement, blocking, and timing were all designed to protect the flow of the one-take while also creating natural moments where the frame could tighten. The result was a shot that still felt continuous and intentional, with subtle camera booms and tilts that elevated the bottle into a hero moment exactly when it mattered.
That built-in flexibility paid off in the edit, where Republic editor Andy McGee brought the piece home. While the spot could live as a single uninterrupted shot, McGee instinctively found moments where shaping the timing sharpened the contrast between chaos and calm. “The flexibility in the cut actually helped protect the idea. We could time the chaos more precisely and make the calm around the bottle feel even more intentional,” McGee says. By preserving the rhythm and tone Shepherd established on set, while leaning into emphasis where it helped most, the final spot feels effortless and assured — a calm, confident finish that lets Tito’s stand firm while the world rushes by.
