Daring new whisky ad shows YouTube star dangling off the side of a building to imitate zero gravity

Marquese "Nonstop" Scott is taking to his talent up to a whole other level -- or rather, 10 stories.
 By 
Patrick Kulp
 on 
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Original image has been replaced. Credit: Mashable

Marquese "Nonstop" Scott, a dancer whose hyper-fast, gliding style has won him fame on YouTube, is taking to his talent up to a whole other level -- or rather, 10 stories.

In a branded video for Ballantine's whiskey, the inner city Los Angeles native is harnessed and hoisted up 115 feet above the ground to dance horizontally against the wall of an Oakland, California building.

With the camera capturing his movement from below, the goal is to use some visual trickery to make Scott appear as if he is defying the laws of gravity. Then, when the video cuts to a shot from the top of the building and the bustling downtown comes into focus underneath him, you see the dizzying drop he's up against.   

Scott's performance begins two minutes into the video below after a video bio of Scott.    


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As someone with a natural fear of heights, summoning the courage to put himself at the mercy of a simple rope and a harness wasn't easy. 

"The main fear for me was not necessarily the height, but the rope -- like 'Okay is this going to hold me?'" Scott told Mashable. 

Scott also had to re-learn some of his dance moves from a completely different angle. It involved different muscles than he was used to and the hours of practice at an altitude were physically exhausting.

Original image replaced with Mashable logo
Original image has been replaced. Credit: Mashable

The video was created as part of an ongoing series sponsored by the whiskey brand that aims to help influential artists, athletes and other performers around the world attempt something they've never had the resources to try before.

In previous installments, the company had an artist make the world's largest GIF from four days of satellite imagery of Rio de Janeiro and had Africa's biggest DJ and producer create a human orchestra.

For Ballantine's, the campaign is a way to make a creative advertisement that people will actually want to watch without smothering it in branding.

Scott briefly considered trying an underwater stunt before eventually settling on the high-altitude performance. He thought the appearance of anti-gravity would be a good fit for his already superhuman looking dance style.

"The reason that people pull in to my videos is because it looks unreal. So if I can add an aspect that's even more unreal I was all for it," Scott said. "It's extending the boundaries even further."

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Topics Advertising

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Patrick Kulp

Patrick Kulp is a Business Reporter at Mashable. Patrick covers digital advertising, online retail and the future of work. A graduate of UC Santa Barbara with a degree in political science and economics, he previously worked at the Pacific Coast Business Times.

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