A South African director who has been busy in another part of Africa is Jeremy Goodall of feelgoodfilms.
“We had the opportunity to work with Euro RSCG Johannesburg on their campaign for Kenya Power. This has been a massive campaign and required us to shoot in various Kenyan locations,’ says Goodall.
As this work goes into post-production, feelgoodfilms sent their latest commercial for Nivea for Men to the stations. Conceptualised by Draft FCB this one will definitely appeal to both men and women – we’re talking bathroom scene and buff body after all.
The ad follows a young chap with pecs to rival the Old Spice guy. He starts his day in the bathroom with Nivea Maximum Hydration Body Lotion – we’re talking 24-hour PLUS defence here and this cat has a lot of body to cover. He lubes up on lotion, leaves the bathroom to take on the day at the dusty construction site, followed by a dinner date, looking fresh and hydrated all the while, then returns to the bathroom 24 hours later for a refresh.
What’s refreshing for Goodall is the filming technique and the break away from Nivea’s usual style.
“Post-production was the biggest challenge. We wanted it to appear like the subject was moving seamlessly from one scene to another,’ explains Goodall.
“A scene had to be shot in one room, the same scene needed to be shot on a different location and a third take had to be shot with a blue screen. In order for the character’s motion to appear to be smooth and seamless, we used one-take motion control equipment combined with post-production layering.’
The breakaway from the typical cosmetic commercial is a storyline that compels the audience to identify with the character. So while there is sufficient buffness to appeal to the gals, the lads will really appreciate the fully clothed segment that our hero moves through between bathroom scenes. Less pecs, more hard-hat and dinner date. Refreshing, indeed.
By Anton Crone
screenafrica magazine
