Case Study:
Urban Front - Beauty / Performance
Locations and actors cost money. Quite a lot of money traditionally. So in this instance it dawned on us fairly quickly that hiring these was a no no.
We had access to the showroom, and one of their clients graciously let us shoot the exterior of their house. The showroom is very nice, and serves its purpose very well, but we didn't feel it gave off the right vibe in terms of high high end luxury TVC.
So it was decided that we would use the showroom, as we had access to it for free and there were lots of examples of the product, but in order to create the look we wanted we would turn all the lights off and spot light the doors in in inky black background.
We then carefully storyboarded the shots so that the abstracted macro shots of the doors' design would flow from one to the other in and out of the blackness. This was achieved by use of a probe lens and a small crane/jib on a track. The idea was to create an exciting, intriguing, dramatic, eye grabbing sequence that begged the question, "what am I looking at", which was answered at the end of the film.
This was then paired with a voiceover (the fantastic Andrew Wincott, one of Toby's Cast mates from The Archers pulled in as a bit of a favour). The script kept simple and direct, capturing the marriage of exquisite design "Beauty" and the functional security and user experience "Performance".
The client:
The brief:
This was their first real venture into video marketing, and certainly their first TV advert and so we had to really dial down into what sort of approach we were going to take with them. Their doors are made of the highest quality materials and meet all the highest standards of security you can imagine, and so their initial brief was keen to emphasise these.
However, we encouraged them to take a step back and reconsider. With a premium product (up to £20k a door!) it's useful to study the tactics used by other premium brands. Bentley do not advertise how large their engine is, how fast they go, or how road safe their minimum stopping distance is. They focus on mysterious luxury. Sleek, clean, understated.
And so we were given the green light to devise a film that married these two ideas together. The only problem was... the budget was... mini.
If not for the airtime grant, the idea of a TVC was probably not something they would have entertained as the company was still a small outfit. So luxury - on a budget was the name of the game.
The plan:
The result:
It was lockdown 1 and the world of TV advertising was in shock. Brands were pulling their campaigns left right and centre, unsure if their customers would be able to leave the house to even buy their products. And so, SKY TV launched a scheme whereby they issued grants to smaller independant brands and companies offering free airtime across their network.
It was at this time that Urban Front got in touch with us saying they had been granted some air time and would we be able to help them put together a suitable ad in the very short period of time they had left to accept the offer.
Well of course we could!
Urban Front manufacture the most amazing doors out of incredible hardwoods, bronze and steel; all manufactured in their UK workshop before being delivered worldwide. Their product is the very definition of premium and can be seen included in some of the worlds most exclusive developments and renovations.
The finished product is something that we are very proud of. For the budget at our disposal we managed to create a video that looks premium and communicates our client's message clearly and delicately.
The client was very pleased and having run for a number of weeks on SKY was then repurposed for use in Virgin Atlantic's Business and First Class lounges.
We've since made a lot more content, for Urban Front across various platforms and continue to do so to this day. We've really loved working with them to help them develop their business and strengthen their foothold as a highly sought-after manufacturer within the architectural and interior design space worldwide.