Naishuller banks on an artistic approach for Tochka spot

Renaissance art finds an unsympathetic audience in this artistic new campaign for Russian bank Tochka, directed by Great Guns’ Ilya Naishuller.

With creative by Russian agency Voskhod and production by Daddy’s Film in Moscow, the fantastical ad brings iconic artworks to life with epic effect. 

The 60-second spot, called The Wrong Bank, takes place in an art gallery stalked by stony-faced bankers with the deliciously dark melody of Massive Attack’s track Angel underpinning the ominous scene. Suddenly, as the paintings and sculptures spring to life, the bankers are placed in the midst of compelling scenes of human emotion and suffering. But the artworks, featuring Sisyphus, Prometheus and a series of other iconic figures from art and literature, are appealing to the wrong audience and the suits treat the spectacle with cold indifference and amusement. A voice over explains that this is because nothing matters to banks except money – not dreams, loyalty, faith, truth, nor love.

Naishuller, director of equally ambitious music promos including Bad Motherfucker and  Kolshik, is behind the ambitious ad. “I immediately fell in love with the concept and was excited to try something new as a director," he says. "It was a lot of fun researching Renaissance art to come up with living, breathing versions. Casting was an interesting challenge as finding the types of faces to fit each the story took some time and careful consideration. Ultimately, I think we struck gold with our cast and managed to find the right balance between being interesting-looking people who also fit the era we were trying to recreate.”

To capture the otherworldly visuals, Naishuller shot on high-speed Phantom Flex 4K cameras. Commenting on the set-up, he says: “We worked heavily with VR cameras to create previews and pre-shot most of the video, which allowed us to blast through the shoot with an accurate yet fun approach.”