Papaya make 'A Scent That Lifts' for Air Wick

Director Jim Weedon discusses the creative and production approach behind the TVC and shares the 'making of' video

Papaya films London has made a new TVC for Air Wick and Havas London. Air Wick's new scented oil warmers work to diffuse scented oils that ‘lifts your home’. The film's ethereal feel is thanks to the production team allowing much of the footage to be shot in-camera and teaming up with the incredible VFX team at Absolute post. Director Jim Weedon adds a sensory treatment that creates a relaxed and refreshed feeling.

“The idea was to exemplify Air Wick's sublime properties through the power of its scent as it activates into the room and quite literally lifts the furniture upwards in a spellbinding depiction of a living room in gentle rapture. This refreshing concept by Havas is a very simple metaphor to showcase Air Wick’s new product activating properties and something that visually would make for enticing viewing.

We wanted the film to stand apart during the commercial breaks - a respite from the onslaught of advertising. Ironically at the time we also wanted to remind the audience about the importance of space and calm in their home and to escape from the world outside. As this was a Pan-European campaign we were also tasked with creating an environment that could sit in any European city, nondescript yet modern and engaging as a home.

The tricky part was to create the lifting of the living room furniture. I didn’t want to shoot the moving objects as green screen elements as we wouldn’t achieve the true reflections, light sources and angles required to successfully embed them into the scene. Equally, we only had a single day to shoot the entire film so we decided to shoot the lifting scenes on wires suspended on a marionette frame above the living room. This allowed us to lift multiple objects in a single take. After a few rehearsals, we were able to successfully time the movements of the objects and correct pathway for the Steadicam.

The only elements we ended up shooting on the green screen were the sweets, pillow and petals. Absolute Post then stepped in and delivered the sublime clean up of wire work, gentle composting of the petals and sweets and created the uplifting CGI manifestation of the aroma at work.

Having spent so much time at home recently I think it might be worthwhile investing in one!”

- Jim Weedon, director

Credits

Title: Air Wick – A Scent That Lifts

Client: RB

Agency: Havas London

Creative Director: Mark Black

Creative Team: Phil Lecorgne, Maria Skarlatou

Agency Producer: Adam Henderson

Production Company: Papaya Films London

Director: Jim Weedon (repped by DarlingRSA)

Executive Producer: Wojtek Skiba