Filmic Scenarios That Fly
Filmic creative scenarios about being carried away by a brand experience, that evoke gravity defying feelings of freedom, offer potentially entertaining visual analogies for effectively dramatised consumer propositions and brand attributes.
1. Burberry, Open Spaces
The making of ‘Open Spaces’ was inspired by the high-end, outdoor attire company’s founder Thomas Burberry’s quote, that “Inherent in every Burberry garment is freedom”.
Conceived by Riff Raff Films Production Company, UK, the commercial was directed by the MEGAFORCE collective of French filmmakers Charles Brisgand, Clément Gallet, Léo Berne, and Raphaël Rodriguez.
The filmic depictions of Burberry-clad friends gliding weightlessly through the British countryside, in metaphorical enjoyment of their outdoor freedom, makes for entertaining viewing.
2. Spotify, All Ears on You
Advertising Agency: FCB, New York, USA
Swedish audio streaming, and media services provider, Spotify’s commercial,’‘All Ears on You’, is part of an integrated, global campaign promoting their immersive listening experiences for music and podcast audiences.
Filmed in Mexico City, and directed by filmmaker Amber Grace Johnson, the symbolically impressive visualisation of ‘uplifting bubbles of immersion’, features a soundtrack of British-Irish-Bangladeshi, singer-songwriter Joy Crooke’s “Feet Don’t Fail Me Now”.
3. CANAL+, The Idea
Advertising Agency: BETC, Paris, France
‘The Idea’ commercial, for French cable TV channel’s new theme, ‘Canal Plus Creates’, centres on the imaginative flights of fancy by a screenwriter, in search of ideas for compelling viewing.
The epic scenario of the screenwriter’s spectacular visualisations, directed by filmmaker Ivan Grbovic, calls the adage to mind that ‘a man without imagination has no wings’.
With its “Wild Minds Make Great Series” message, spellbinding special effects, and entertaining references to ‘Versailles’ and other hugely popular Canal+ movie series,‘The Idea’ is a viewing delight from start to finish.
4. Apple Watch Series 4, Flight
Advertising Agency: Apple In-House, Cupertino, California, USA
The ‘Flight’ commercial is an expressive metaphoric analogy of the emotive freedom the built-in cellular capabilities of the Apple Watch Series 4 offers.
Directed by renowned filmmaker Jonathan Glazer, the commercial features Finnish-American athlete, air dancer and skydiver, Inka Tiitto, known for her spectacularly choreographed performances of wind-tunnel flying.
Jonathan and Tito worked closely together to plan the intricate camera tracking shots required for the successful editing of the air dancing routines and skydiving display.
The soundtrack features the song ‘Breathe’ from the American Experimental Band Son Lux’s album, ‘Stranger Forms’.
5. Sony PlayStation, The Edge
Advertising Agency: adam&eveDDB, London, UK
Production Company: Academy Films, London, UK
VFX Supervisors: Tom Raynor & Alex Gabucci
The spectacular scenario for PlayStation 5, features a fleet of sailing ships, airships, second world war planes, fighter-jets, and an assortment of spaceships, accompanying a young boatsman on a metaphorical journey to the edge of the world, beyond which is a mystical world of epic airborne wonder and discovery that has no limits.
The featured soundtrack song ‘Baba O’Riley’, a tribute to spiritual leader Meher Baba and musician Terry Riley, is by the English Rock Band, ‘The Who’.
Sony Interactive Entertainment’s cinematic PlayStation commercial ‘The Edge’, with its visual splendour and superb production values, makes for compelling viewing.
6. Santos de Cartier, The Thrill
Advertising Agency: Publicis 133, Paris, France
The classic Cartier Santos wristwatch is dedicated to the memory of Alberto Santos-Dumont, a Brazilian inventor and aviation pioneer who spent most of his adult life in Paris dedicated to aeronautical study and aviation design.
In Brazil Santos-Dumont is believed to have created the world’s first practical aeroplane and is fervently regarded as a national hero.
His ‘Demoiselle’ monoplane did indeed make aviation history with its 15 kW air-cooled engine, and a wire-braced wing mounted above an open-framed fuselage built of bamboo.
In 1940 Alberto complained to his friend Louis Cartier about the difficulty of checking his pocket watch during flight.
To solve the problem, Cartier inventively created his first men’s wristwatch so that Alberto could check his flight-times while keeping both hands on the controls.
The compelling cinematic ‘Santos de Cartier’ commercial, directed by filmmaker Seb Edwards, stars actor Jake Gyllennhaal, in a surreal dream about the thrilling freedom of flight that Santos-Dumont pioneered.
The music soundtrack features singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist Paul Dixon, and producer, composer, and violinist James Underwood’s collaborative ‘Fyfe & Iskra Strings’ composition, titled “Peaks”.