Ted Baker Launches Mission Impeccable

Crowns & Owls, directors

What was the brief from Ted Baker and did you know instantly how you were going to approach it?

For this piece, there was no brief. Guy [Ritchie] had seen our film Wonders Never Cease that we shot for Ted Baker in 2015 and asked to have a chat with us; naturally we were pretty quick to oblige. We went down to the set of King Arthur - Legend of The Sword with Ray Kelvin and hung out with Guy for the day. It was a very surreal experience and there was a good chemistry between all of us. Ray asked us to go away and come up with something we could collaborate on.

We found ourselves in  an interesting and exciting dilemma - whatever film we made had to lead with Ted Baker's aesthetic as well as reflecting the feel and themes of Guy's work, whilst also not sacrificing our own tonality that we've built over the past few years. It was quite a challenge to find the right recipe. Our fundamental driving force was that we wanted the clothes to be the heroes, and we ended up embracing that quite literally.

Because we knew the film would be so short, we knew we had to embrace cliches to allow the audience to grasp what was always going to be an ambitious undertaking. The spy/noir genre is a well walked path, littered with tropes and archetypes that people just get - so from early on, exploring that genre made the most sense, and it provided a great platform for some real 'heroes' to be present.

How long was the production process?

The shoot was six days, which sounds like a long time for a three-and-a-half minute film, until you factor in that we're also shooting the stills campaign at the same time, so the three of us have a fair bit to do. There's a lot going on in the film, locations and cast are in abundance so pre-production was quite gruelling. It was a big undertaking for us, to say the least. We were up to our eyes every day for about six weeks leading up to the shoot, and then the post was heavy too. It's a fast-paced story and a bit of a sensory overload so the edit was as big of a journey as the shoot was!

What was the biggest challenge you encountered?

The biggest challenge was probably the schedule and the managing of priorities between the film and the stills, so we could have as many opportunities as possible to work cohesively as a collective as well as ensuring there was enough hours in the day to physically tackle the colossus that was this project. The magic happens when we're all in the same room because that's how we grew up together creatively. We try to be as tactile as we can in the running order, so that when we have performance-heavy interludes we can come together and try to get the best out of the talent etc.

One of [the Crowns & Owls collective] serves as our DP so sometimes he'd go off independently and capture stuff like the travelling sequences so the rest of us can work on getting the stills in a good place. It's a delicate ecosystem that we refine on every project. 

You’ve worked extensively with Ted Baker before, what is it about the brand’s approach that you like?

Ted Baker have quite a bold approach to film in general compared to most other 'higher' high street fashion brands. They're very up for embracing the cinematic and pushing the production value of the work in order to stand out. Naturally that's an attractive thing to us, as we want to create narrative worlds where products are part of something that's multi faceted and engaging and don't necessarily always have to take centre stage. 

This was obviously a big step up in terms of scale and budget, were you nervous? 

There was definitely an air of nervousness leading up to the shoot.  It was the biggest project we've done in terms of scale and it was very ambitious with a lot of moving parts. We're lucky to have found a very strong core crew over the past couple of years and they were so incredible on this project. In terms of the shoot, we started on some of the simpler scenes which served as a nice starter before the main course of helicopters and speed boats. 

How did Guy Ritchie get involved in the project initially? How hands-on was he in terms of direction/the production process?

We went off and came up with the overall concept before sitting down with Guy a few times to refine it. Guy's energy is great to witness first hand when you're sat at a table with him, especially when someone hits something that excites him. He's a good coach, especially during the writing phase which is where we had most contact with him. He knows when to make you feel ten feet tall and when to make you feel like a mouse [in order] to get the best out of you.

Were you inspired by any particular spy/neo noir films and directors?

The genre is very fertile so we had a lot to draw on thematically for this one. Tomas Alfredson's Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy was a big one in terms of atmosphere, especially in the first half of the piece where we establish the agents. The Cold War atmosphere is nailed so perfectly in the tone of that film and we definitely wanted to try and emulate that for the vibe of the TED organisation. Visually, we wanted to embrace a wider pool of inspiration, there's [Nicolas] Winding Refn nods in the 'New York' shots, a [Christopher] Nolan moment in the 'Tokyo' section, and a lot of the travelling sequences definitely owe a lot to the [Sam] Mendes-era Bond films.

Did the shoppable technology aspect of the film impact on your directing vision in any way/were there any special considerations?

The film was originally written to work as a brand piece, as is usually the case with the Ted Baker films. Ray Kelvin was keen that we try the shoppable route for this one, as we approached pre-production. It's an interesting lens to look at a film through, especially as this film was designed to be showcased through the visual language of a noir film.

There are several factors that come into play when a shoppable interactivity is introduced. Ensuring product lingers in the frame long enough for a considered purchase opportunity, as well as being able to physically see the product in its glory when the film is set in the shadows of the fashion world also provides a different platform to approach from. It's about finding that balance where it serves everyone's interest but hopefully doesn't sacrifice the drama of the film. There's two edits that live together, one serves as the cinematic brand film, whilst the other provides the shoppable opportunity. The shoppable concept isn't that well walked a path, so we're intrigued to see how it's received.

Nik Roope, executive creative director, Poke

What was the brief from Ted Baker for the social strand of the campaign and how did you approach it?

Ted Baker have built the brand without traditional ads. They've created a universe that lives in everything they do, from their high quality, yet quirky, very British products, to each lovingly crafted bespoke store fit-out, wherever it pops up in the world. Their campaigning follows these principles and are therefore not about the conveyance of messages, but rather enhancing and building out a fictional world into every tentacle available. Espionage and the noir spy genre is dripping with references and possible constructs, so dreaming up entertaining and engaging social mechanics wasn't hard. 

How does the social media takeover tie in with the other aspects of the campaign, e.g. the shoppable film?

Technology and communication have always played a role in espionage flicks. And these days even more so (take Bourne and even Bond). No aspiring spy or infiltrator would be able to complete their villainy without the command of code and communications. The maniacal megalomaniac always has to take over the national TV station, so the public can be addressed regarding their peril with no interference.

So, of course [Mission Impeccable baddie] The Needle wouldn't just steal the secret new collection, he also snatches the keys to social media channels to create even more distracting havoc. He would hack and abuse those channels, albeit in a highly stylised, tongue-in-cheek manner. Apart from Twitter (we don't know why he didn't manage to get hold of that one) so Ted will keep followers abreast of developments there.

What were the biggest challenges – conceptual, technical or otherwise – you encountered? 

With the store activation we worked with the Google Zoo team on some pretty out-there voice search mechanics with geo-fencing and chrono-fencing that have given us a lot to chew on. To get to simple and intuitive experiences that cross from the physical to the digital world, there's still a lot of complexity and technology to manage. 

What sort of challenges will users face in order to get their hands on the prizes?

At retail [level] they'll have to issue voice searches for poetic spy codes and then ""wait for further instructions"" and in social channels, followers can help to locate The Needle in a bid to prevent more despicable crimes.

Craig Smith, global brand communication director, Ted Baker

What was the brief for this campaign?

We always strive to make sure that each season is very different to the previous.  Mission Impeccable is all about being immaculately dressed while on a mission to save T.E.D.’s precious assets. We wanted to create a style within the narrative of the film – we wanted people watching to want to wear what they see the characters wearing.

How did Guy Ritchie get involved?

Guy Ritchie and Ted Baker founder, Ray Kelvin are good friends and had been talking about the idea of creating a film together for a while.  When the right moment came along, we went for it. Guy’s role on this film was executive producer and mentor to Crowns & Owls.  He offered them advice throughout regarding plot, characters and narrative. 

Ted Baker has won plaudits for its use of humour and strong narrative in previous campaigns such as Wonders Never Cease – did you consciously set out to challenge fashion film stereotypes?

The very essence of Ted Baker is its quintessentially British humour, it’s important to have a point of difference and that is just one of ours. Our customers enjoy following the story of the season and interacting with Ted through the narrative online and in store.

You worked with [interactive video tech company] Wirewax on a previous shoppable film, #TedPresents – what lessons did you learn from that experience and are there any different features/functionality for Mission Impeccable? 

#TedPresents was a big success for us.  This time it’s working a little differently in that viewers are shopping the full look that they see on screen and not just individual items. The look they choose drops into their ‘vault;’ they can then select which item/s within the look that they would like to purchase. We have worked with the best tech in the business on this project – Google, Poke, Wirewax and our partners Selfridges and Nordstrom, to ensure that the full customer journey is user-friendly and seamless.