The world got a little quieter and less interesting on Dec. 28 when Ian “Lemmy” Kilmister died after a shockingly brief battle with cancer, and the tributes have been pouring in ever since.
Some, both before and during the memorial service in LA on Jan. 9, have taken a turn for the lighthearted.
For example, Lemmy was invited to film a remake of an “iconic” Finnish commercial for milk, of all things. Hasan & Partners, the marketing agency charged with making the ad, thought it would be fun to turn the tables on a man more likely to drink White Russians and have him say something about a product as wholesome as milk. After his death, however, the company released the following ad as a tribute.
If you watch through ’til the end, there’s a message from the ad agency, explaining that this was an improvised take, all Lemmy’s creation, in which he walks out of a convenience store, leaning gingerly on a cane. Turning to the camera, he waves the cane and essentially says he’s not drinking milk, now or ever.
“This is offered in celebration of the life of a lovely, exceptional man—a man who celebrated life so vibrantly himself,” the script reads. The video, released last week, was the company’s “magical encounter with a great man—and we are honoured to share it with the world. Thank you Lemmy.”
Beverages were front of mind when it came to ways to pay tribute to Lemmy, it seems.
In addition to fans who are trying to petition the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry to name one of four newly discovered heavy metal elements in his memory (a petition which has almost 144,000 signatures as of Tuesday night, Jan. 12), others threw their support behind renaming his favourite drink, a Jack Daniels and Coke, as a Lemmy. As of Tuesday night, nearly 44,000 people had signed the petition, which also gained the attention of Food & Beverage Magazine.
It took the pleas of Motorhead fans to heart and, in the newest issue of the magazine, publisher Michael Politz announced it was officially adopting the new name.
“We are honored to represent the industry and bring the moniker The Lemmy to every bar in the world!,” he wrote. “Owning a rock club with Anthrax’s Scott Ian and Alice in Chains’ Jerry Cantrell gave me the chance to meet Lemmy and experience his legend myself.”
The magazine even decided to run an ad for the beverage, in case someone wasn’t sure how to make it:
You can probably still order a Jack and Coke the next time you’re out for a night on the town, but wouldn’t ordering a Lemmy make you feel all that much cooler?
Leave a Comment