REM  Ruini e Mariotti Creates the Advertising Campaign for the Latest Gucci  Fragrance

REM Ruini e Mariotti presents the international campaign for Gucci Guilty, the new Gucci fragrance conceived by Frida Giannini, Creative Director of Gucci, and Riccardo Ruini, Creative Director at REM Ruini e Mariotti. The commercial, produced by Think Cattleya with RSA Films in 3-D, is directed by the legendary Frank Miller and stars Evan Rachel Wood and Chris Evans. [If you have anaglyphic 3D glasses at hand, scroll down to watch it in stereo. -Ed.]

Gucci Guilty – Facts & Figures

  • Expanse of Teatro 5 in Cinecittà : 34445 square feet.
  • Area of green-screen cyclorama constructed: 20x40x20 meters
  • The giant set design included a real basalt-paved street, a New York art deco style bar and a luxury hotel suite, the setting of the passionate encounter recalled by the two characters.
  • During the scene between the sheets, all the monitors were switched off and the set remained off-limits for a whole afternoon.
  • The international filming squad was composed of over 100 people, including the camera crew, special-effects riggers, digital VFX and 3-D specialists.
  • The commercial was shot on 35mm film and latest-generation Genesis HDSR digital.
  • The Jaguar XK120 ‘C-Type’ featured in the film was transported to Cinecittà  under escort from Coventry, England.
  • The Jaguar XK120 ‘C-Type’ won the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1951 and 1953; its 6-cylinder 3400cc 360 hp engine is still in perfect condition thanks to the special care of the Jaguar Heritage Trust.
  • On the indications of Frank Miller, the Jaguar was transformed from its traditional English Racing Green to the white firestarter shown in the commercial.
  • Post-production software used: Maya, Fusion, View-D, Flame, Color, Cinesync, TrueLight.
  • 500 hours work required to create the imaginary city.
  • 3 months spent on post production and special effects.
  • Nationalities involved in the project: USA (direction/3-D), Mexico (photography), Australia (digital effects), UK (stereoscopy), France (styling), Italy (concept, art direction and production).
The commercial for Gucci Guilty, the latest fragrance devised by Gucci’s Creative Director Frida Giannini, takes as a catalyst the fashion house’s iconic entwined GG symbol presenting a heroine to whom this emblem is an incitement to transgression. For this most contemporary of rebels, Gucci is the brand of sensuality and power. In the commercial, the Gucci Guilty woman discovers the very scent of defiance.

Once again, Frida Giannini has found in Riccardo Ruini, REM Ruini e Mariotti’s Creative Director, the ideal partner to bring this concept to the screen with a campaign in which a new woman takes shape: audacious and discerning, she embodies the 21st Century idea of beauty with her “she who dares, wins” philosophy.

Gucci and REM Ruini e Mariotti have created a commercial in 3-D that is as beautiful to watch as it is innovative, boasting an extraordinary cast and an exceptional director: behind the camera is visionary graphic artist, scriptwriter and director Frank Miller, directing the controversial Evan Rachel Wood, an icon of her generation (Across The Universe, The Wrestler, Thirteen), paired with Chris Evans (Captain America, Fantastic Four, Sunshine). This blend of talents and creativity results in a unique and inspirational film.

In the vision brought to the screen by Frida Giannini, Riccardo Ruini and Frank Miller, a gorgeous blonde is at the wheel of a roaring convertible, a vintage Jaguar XK120 ‘C-Type’ (winner of the 24 hours of Le Mans in 1951 and 1953), as the city stretches out around her. The car screeches to a halt, and she steps out to explore the urban landscape. Savoring the night air, she remembers: a night, a man, her choice…..a perfume.

Frank Miller, one of today’s definitive creative talents, famous for masterpieces such as 300 and the singular Sin City, and for reinventing both the story and the very identity of Batman, comments: “I had never shot a commercial before, and I didn’t know what to expect. Frida and Riccardo were very open to the ideas that I brought to the table. Working with someone so creative as Frida and Riccardo has been a pleasure; both actors have terrific screen presence, and as to shooting at Cinecittà  ‘ I think of the studio as being blessed by Fellini’s spirit.”

Guillermo Navarro was chosen to be the cinematographer as an international specialist in visual effects and greenscreen shoots, on the strength of his experiences that earned him an Oscar in 2007 for Pan’s Labyrinth and his work alongside Quentin Tarantino, Guillermo del Toro and Robert Rodriguez. The supervision of the visual effects creation was entrusted to Dave Morley, co-founder of Fuel VFX in Sydney (Iron Man 2 and Wolverine, as well as Miller’s film The Spirit).

An international line-up features in this Italian production, shot in Rome and produced by Think Cattleya. The commercial took five days to film, using the latest-generation technology in Europe’s largest film studio, Teatro 5 in Cinecittà , home to the creations of Fellini, Scorsese and Coppola.

For the experience and complex skills necessary to produce a commercial of such superb technical quality, Gucci and REM Ruini e Mariotti’s choice fell to Think Cattleya as the ideal production partner for such an ambitious project. Through its international reach Think Cattleya brought in Ridley Scott’s RSA Films as co-producer, to take on the organizational management and liaising between the Hollywood actors, the New York director, the Italian set designers, the British technicians and the Australian post-production team.

During the extensive post-production phase, the transposition by Fuel VFX of Miller’s hand-drawn storyboards into computer graphics made it possible to plan the best possible solutions in terms of set design and cinematography technique, through a workflow of creative decisions taken collectively in real time by Frank Miller, Riccardo Ruini and Frida Giannini, allowing a perfect blend between live action and the CG world. Fuel’s team supervised the shoot from a technical control booth, rendering the scenes set by Miller via a real-time grading system, so as to preview the final compositing on set.

Miller’s storyboards immediately inspired Riccardo Ruini, who saw this commercial as a perfect occasion for stereoscopic 3-D, a first in fashion advertising. The solution identified together with Think Cattleya represents the state of the art of post-production stereography: for two months, teams in Sydney, Rome, London and New York worked on the stereoscopic rendering of the virtual scenes, experimenting with new techniques for rendering and converting the 2-D live action shots to 3-D using the View-D system, so as to produce a 60-second stereoscopic 3-D Director’s Cut. This first-time transposition in 3-D of Frank Miller’s vision is intended for cinema screens, the web and special in-store displays.

Gucci has always paid particular attention to the soundtrack of its advertising campaigns. The track chosen for Gucci Guilty is Strangelove by Depeche Mode, one of Frida Giannini’s all-time favorite bands. The track comes from the 1987 album Music for the Masses, and has been given a fresh new sound by the young British dance-punk band the Friendly Fires, nominated for the 2009 Mercury Prize.

Riccardo Ruini picked the Friendly Fires as perfect for the musical makeover of Strangelove, and personally supervised all the recording and editing phases of the track. The launch of Gucci Guilty will be accompanied by a limited-edition vinyl picture disc featuring the soundtrack of the advertisement, with pictures from the Gucci Guilty press campaign printed on both sides.

On the subject of Gucci Guilty, Riccardo Ruini comments: ‘Working with Frida is a great privilege for me: she is courageous, visionary and inspirational. Thanks to her we had the chance to accomplish such an ambitious, articulated and innovative project.

The genius of Frank Miller, the magnetic, sensual presence of Evan and Chris, together with the musical energy of the Friendly Fires, the special effects and the cutting-edge technology of a 3-D film, have brought the extraordinary results we can see in the commercial for the Gucci Guilty campaign, once again a fresh take on fragrance advertising campaigns and on how to capture the interest of young consumers, who are most attentive and sensitive to the appeal of new quality products.’

The press campaign, also created by Frida Giannini and Riccardo Ruini, was entrusted to the famous fashion photographers Mert Alas & Marcus Piggott, who came up with a perfect image of the Gucci Guilty woman: bold, brazen and beautiful. The pure sensuality of these shots is designed to remain engraved in the memory of an entire generation.

For the still shots of the bottle ‘ a classy blend of pale gold-plated metal and glass, with the famous interlocking GG emblem creating a window on the delicate amber liquid inside ‘ the choice fell to the extraordinary photographic artist Guido Mocafico.

Since 2007, Frida Giannini has chosen REM Ruini e Mariotti as a partner to translate her vision of the Gucci universe into the language of advertising.

Over these last 4 years, REM Ruini e Mariotti has worked closely with Frida, taking care of the art direction of the advertising campaigns for all the fashion, jewelry and perfume collections, both print and film.

For the Gucci perfumes communication campaigns, the courage and creative vision of Frida Giannini has allowed REM Ruini e Mariotti to come up with ambitious, innovative video projects. From the fresh return behind the camera of the cult director Chris Cunningham for the beguiling Flora by Gucci – winner of the Gold Lion award at the Cannes Advertising Festival and short-listed in several of other festivals ‘ to Gucci by Gucci pour Homme, shot between New York and London, starring top actor James Franco and with the Oscar-winning Janusz Kaminsky (Saving Private Ryan and Schindler’s List) as director of photography, and Gucci by Gucci, filmed in Paris and directed by David Lynch, REM Ruini e Mariotti continues to seek uniquely creative, unique and outstanding solutions.

Credits

Product/Title: Gucci Guilty
Lengths: 60″, 30″, 20″, 15″, 10″
Location: Stage 5, Cinecittà , Rome
Shoot dates: 24-28 November 2009
First on-air: 25 August 2010, UK
Director: Frank Miller
Actors: Evan Rachel Wood, Chris Evans

Client/Advertiser:
P&G Prestige Products – Geneva
Vice President Luxury Brands: Luigi Feola
Global Marketing Director Gucci Parfums: Todd Brisky
Global Associate Marketing Director Gucci Parfums: Joshua Braman

Gucci – Rome
Creative Director: Frida Giannini

Agency:
REM Ruini e Mariotti – Rome
Creative Director: Riccardo Ruini
Strategic Director: Olivia Mariotti
Creative Services: Simona Silvano
Account Manager: Elisa Faustini

Production Company:
Think Cattleya – Rome
CEO: Monica Riccioni
Executive Producer: Philip Rogosky
Producer: Alessandro Bonino

RSA Films
Executive Producer: Kai-Lu Hsiung
Producer: Carla Poole

Director of Photography: Guillermo Navarro, A.S.C., A.C.M.
Art Direction/Set Design: Rosario Provenza/Marco Luppi
Editor: Adam Rudd, Final Cut, London
Conforming: Shake Movie, Rome

Post Production & 3-D:
Fuel VFX – Sidney
VFX Supervisor: Dave Morley
CG Supervisor: Simon Maddison
Senior Producer: Celia Nicholas

Prime Focus – London
Senior Producer: Matthew Bristowe

Audio:
Envy – London
Sound Engineer: Rich Martin

Music:
Track: cover of “Strangelove” (Martin Gore / Depeche Mode)
Artist: Friendly Fires, XL Records