Written by on Jul 12, 2010. Posted in Production News

Grand Optical shoots ad in Madrid with Zinedine Zidane

French opticians’ Grand Optical has filmed a new commercial in Madrid’s city centre with star football player Zinedine Zidane. Catch Me If You Can shows Zidane emerging from one of Grand Optical’s high street stores and using his new lenses to spot and escape from the waiting paparazzi.

The production filmed in Madrid because Zidane lives in the Spanish capital and wanted to remain close to his family during the shoot. Josselin Pacreau, a Creative with Young & Rubicam Boulogne, said: “The director spent two weeks scouting locations in Madrid, but it’s difficult as the city doesn’t have a lot of time for TV productions – it’s not a great place to film. Motorists are very impatient and honk their horns all the time during takes.”

Minimal changes were made to the locations themselves, which were Plaza Santo Domingo and also Calle Jacometrezzo, right in the city centre. The biggest change was to the sushi shop that doubled for the Grand Optical store, with the opticians’ branding covering the restaurant logo outside.

Susana Boix, an Executive Producer with Good Morning Films, said: “What we did was rent the restaurant for ourselves and pay them a rental for the space. Plus we ordered the catering from them to compensate for the fact they were not opening. We also used the interior space as production space. We always try to optimise all the resources.”

A series of different permits were needed from the City Hall to enable filming in the streets. Permits were also needed to accommodate the various camera set-ups that included a 12-metre crane rig with a Scorpio stabilised head and a Steadicam.

Ms Boix added: “You need to allow at least two weeks to get the permits. Madrid is a challenging city to film in but it’s no more problematic than shooting in any other major city. Get a good Location Manager to make things a bit easier.”

Click here to view the ad.

Credits
Client: Grand Optical
Agency: Young & Rubicam Boulogne
Creatives: Josselin Pacreau, Sebastien Guinet
Production Company: Wanda Productions
Producer: Sophie Simonin

Production Service Company: Good Morning Films
Executive Producers: Laura Escobar, Susana Boix
Director: Xavier Mairesse