BRIEFING

This was unusual, in that the idents commissioned were for an AFP (Advertiser Funded Programme) series that Siemens themselves had financed, Kelly Hoppen’s Superior Interiors.

The key brand message required by the high-end European kitchen appliance manufacturers was to be associated with aspirational interior design. As Siemens' first-ever entry into the new media frontier of AFPs, all eyes were to be on the idents to drive home the integral partnership between brand, format and the world of luxury design.

A full range of 6 state-of-the art Siemens products were to be featured, including futuristic fridges, intelligent washing machines and built-in ovens and coffee makers. Finally, the environmental credentials of the appliances were also to be highlighted.

And all this to be achieved without breaching strict OFCOM guidelines on sponsorship. No pressure, then…

3 months before TX, we were initially briefed in Siemens’ gorgeous semi-secret showroom at their Northamptonshire HQ. The first thought was to film there, but on the train journey back the legendary media agent, Jonny ‘Dior’ Marchant of KR Mediacom, forced Tim from Fin to brainstorm further with him. The 2 grizzled veterans thrashed out a skeletal idea about ‘design inspirations’ in an Indian notebook. Over the summer, this vague concept was thankfully developed into intricate, flowing line-drawn animations by Darian ‘Daz’ Weir. A unique idea was coming to life…

Filming with a motion control rig, Dan shot all six lead Siemens products in studio – using pre-programmed swooping moves that would flow seamlessly from Daz’s animations. So 6 invisibly edited ‘timeline’ idents - each of a Siemens designer's thought pattern, from pencil-sketch inception to beautiful hardware product manufacture – was created.