David Kolbusz Talks Baileys

David Kolbusz, BBH London deputy ECD  discuss the new Baileys spot.

This is a different approach for Baileys; what did they say they wanted to achieve with this campaign?

A number of things really. They wanted to showcase a new way of serving the spirit in a wine glass. They wanted to make a Christmas ad. But most of all they wanted to make something fresh and contemporary.

How quickly did the idea of the Nutcracker come to the fore and did Baileys buy into it straight away?

Pretty early on in the process, actually. The Baileys team loved the idea of updating the Nutcracker and moved heaven and earth to make it happen.

The way in which the product is approached - the theme of smooth, balletic movement - is still there; was it a purposeful decision to have that through line from previous campaigns?

It wasn't a conscious decision and I hadn't noticed until you mentioned it, but moving forward I'm going to take credit for it. Thank you.

The set design and costumes are fantastic, very Luhrmann-esque; where did the inspiration for the look and style of the film come from, was Luhrmann’s work an influence?

Luhrmann's work wasn't an influence. I think his sets are a bit more theatrical, more camp than ours. Which is not an insult. I love his stuff. But to me, ours feels like where nightmare and fantasy collide. Our production designer - Sarah Greenwood of the Sherlock Holmes films and Atonement - did a bang up job.

The music is obviously integral to the film but how long did it take/how hard was it to get the correct sound/mix for the spot?

We needed to choreograph to it so we had Nicholas Brittel's score early on. The mix was more of a challenge because while we wanted people to lose themselves in the music and dance, we also wanted to get the heavy breathing and sounds of dancers' feet in there too. Balancing the noises so they felt organic and not distracting was painful. There was a lot of back and forth.

What did Ringan bring to the project and why was he the best choice as director?

Ringan is always a joy to work with. He attacks each project with enthusiasm and obsessive attention to detail. He chooses his projects quite carefully so you know when you've got him, he's in 100 per cent. Also, we didn't want this piece to become over-stylised at the expense of humanity and Ringan is great at balancing aesthetics and heart.

How long did the project take and what was the hardest part of putting it together?

It seems like a lot longer because we wanted to wait for Benjamin Millepied - the choreographer - to be available. Once we got started it was probably a month's prep. As for the most difficult part, all the hard-working individuals involved will hate me for saying this but it felt pretty painless.

There seems to be an increasing amount of 2-minute, epic TV spots at the moment; why do you think that is; is it just a Christmas thing?

With all the content (long form and otherwise) being shared around online it's harder to get noticed. People expect more and on television they seem to equate "big" with "special".  The trick is to make the longer ads good. I used to hate director's cuts because they always felt like fatty versions of the 60, but these days creative types seem to write with the longer time length in mind.  

What’s your perfect Christmas?

Christmas usually involves travel, which is a bit sad because London does Christmas better than any city in the world. It's magical. I guess my perfect Christmas would consist of staying home and having nothing to do but eat.