The Client and Their Brief
A few years back, we had the fantastic opportunity to collaborate with, and produce photography for, Bright Blue Day; a great agency based in Bournemouth. The brief required us to create Harrods Bear Product photography for one of their long-standing clients, Visa. The campaign was to target overseas Harrods shoppers, reminding them that paying with Visa is a great British and secure way to pay.
The agency came up with a creative concept to fulfil the client’s brief… a teddy bear with a simple tagline, which the client was thrilled with! As part of the campaign, we were tasked with capturing pristine pack shots of the famous Harrods teddy bear, which was to be used on posters. Thousands of people fly overseas to shop in Harrods, so we knew that we had to put the nail on the head with this shoot. We were also aware of all other competitor campaign ads we were up against, which was a little intimidating, especially with the quick turnaround!
What We Did
Toys represent our imagination. The challenge of toy photography is to make the teddy bear, an inanimate object feel ‘lifelike’, in other words, give it ‘human-like’ characters (anthropomorphism). Giving an object a sense of emotion in commercial photography is extremely powerful to the success of a shoot. After all, the most interesting photos will sell a product! The camera along with our creativity allowed us to capture the concept of the shoot. We decided to photograph the bear with the arm propped behind its’ back (as if holding a Visa card) and facing away from the camera. This allowed for the focal point to be drawn towards the visa card rather than the face of the bear, further emphasising the point of sale (Visa). There are times when a simple idea can be very effective in telling a story to easily hook the reader. A unique quirky perspective is added to the image by placing the bear with its back to the camera. In terms of lighting, we created nice evenly lit images, ensuring full detail of the texture of the bear. The most important aspect of pack shot photography is that the main focal point is clearly visible with minimal glare, especially in areas such as a brand logo.
How It Looks
The Results
You can see the finished poster above, printed on a large scale billboard screen in the iconic Harrods shop. The poster was also used throughout Heathrow, welcoming arrivals into the UK and therefore visitors to shop in Harrods. The punchy tagline is engaging and memorable. We also love the green bear outfit, which is bold but also contrasts nicely against the visa card. It’s really brilliant to see our imagery used in one of the busiest airports in the UK, from people worldwide! Airports are also the ideal place to grab the public’s attention whilst boarding a plane! Let’s face it, everyone is still a child at heart, we all love a cute cuddly toy, especially within commercial advertising. We are naturally drawn towards images that evoke an emotional connection between the product and the consumer.
The last image is another snap of the campaign, showcasing the iconic Harrods on a large scale in the Harrods shop. The final outcome was fantastic, and we are extremely proud that the Harrods Bear product photography is to be seen in the world’s most famous department store.
What The Client Said
Thanks for today, and doing a great job at such short notice!
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