Having previously produced adverts for radio, buses, magazines and billboards, television advertising was the natural progression for My Furniture. After extensive research and investigation, we chose to work with ‘Media Campaign,’ a well reputed and long-established media planning and buying agency and ‘Space City Productions’, (who had had previous experience creating commercials for furniture companies) to help devise and make the commercial. Conversations started in August of 2020, due to the Covid pandemic all meetings took place via ‘Zoom’ calls.
After discussing the intention of the advert, the budget, timeframe, target audience and style required, we were presented with four concepts, including rough outlines of scripts and storyboards. We selected our favourite version and requested the final proposals. Soon afterwards the production schedule, casting brief, location brief, storyboard, animatic and script were submitted, finalised and agreed, then contracts were signed and the production process began.
Media City managed the location sourcing. Several properties were considered but there was one outstanding and ideal option. Situated in Willesden, Northwest London, the choice was a large 1930’s detached property with characterful parquet flooring, intricate coving, deep skirting boards, beautiful fanlight windows and ample off-road parking, we were fortunate that the property had been recently renovated but not yet occupied.
With the location and storyboard finalised the next step was to choose the furniture, lighting, artwork, rugs, bed linen and decorative accessories. My Furniture’s Design Manager James Pilling and Space City’s Art Director Jenny Dee worked together to determine the optimum selection. From Jenny’s point of view, the items needed to meet the requirements of the storyboard, ensuring that all furniture and props required had been identified and would be included. James’s top priority was to select cohesive pieces, (including best-sellers) that represented the company’s identity, creative direction and breadth of offer. We decided on a pallet of blush pink, navy blue and brass and agreed to the following items: For the living room scene, we chose the Alveare Tub Chair, Alveare Footstool and Frankfurt Three Seat Sofa - all upholstered in navy blue velvet with brass accents, the Aria Coffee Table, Aria Side Table and Otto Shelf Unit – all in brushed brass finish, Celestial Blue no.1, no.2 and no.3 Wall Art, Alto Table Light and Alto floor light. For the Dining room, we picked the Brewster Walnut Dining Table with Mason Blush Pink Dining Chairs and three Orbit Pendant Lights, Coral Cosmos no.1 and no.2 Wall Art and the Ravello Sideboard. Finally, for the bedroom we selected the Lavinia King Size Bed in silver finish, the Marini Table Lights and the matching Trio Bedside Tables, Chest of Drawers and Console Table – finished with the Stiletto Trifold Mirror.
Next, we needed to cast an actress. Our key demographic is 25–50-year-olds, predominantly female, this informed our initial criteria, in addition, our preference was for somebody clearly spoken, with a non-regional accent and a warm, personable nature. Space City presented us with showreels from ten candidates that met our requirements, each performing excerpts from the script. We agreed on Alana Wallace, a natural, relatable and experienced British actress.
Wardrobe, hair and make-up needed to be planned, three costumes were required for the three scenes. The concept for scene one was for a Saturday morning of pampering. A soft grey, jersey knit lounge suit was selected with a casual ponytail and natural-looking makeup. Scene two was the preparation for a dinner party, we chose a pleated indigo dress, elegantly curled hair and understated evening makeup. The third scene was a lazy Sunday morning in bed, a cute silky pyjama suit in a pale mint colour was purchased which coordinated perfectly with our bed and linen, again we chose natural-looking makeup and hair.
The filming took place in October 2020 over three days. The first day was spent unboxing and building the furniture, lighting and accessories, we were fortunate that there was a large empty room for storage, all props were neatly laid out and equipment organised. The following day was remarkably busy, the house was packed and buzzing with crew members installing furniture and preparing cameras, camera tracks, lighting setups and monitors. By midday, everything was in position and ready for filming to begin. Space City were an absolute pleasure to work with, their experienced upbeat team worked swiftly and accurately through the tasks. It was fascinating to observe the various techniques employed to create the lighting effects and camera movements. By the end of the day, all footage had been successfully created, leaving day three to dismantle all the furniture, pack up and move out.
Within a fortnight of the shoot the final advert had been edited, colour graded and finished with a bespoke piece of music. It can be viewed in the link below.
