Burberry’s Dance-Infused Commercial: The Power of Movement in Advertising
One of my all-time favorite movement commercials is Burberry’s “Festive,” produced by Riff Raff Films, directed by Megaforce, choreographed by (La)Horde. This mesmerizing blend of movement and special effects highlights not only the elegance of Burberry's clothing but also the emotional resonance that movement can bring to advertising. In this post, I’ll explore the advantages of using movement in commercials and how Burberry has effectively leveraged this art form.
The commercial starts with us meeting a woman in a deli getting hot food. As she steps outside, another dancer joins her and here ice begins to fall.
The shot transitions from a mid-shot to a crane shot, moving from a bird’s-eye view to a tracking shot that follows our heroine and her friend down the street. The scene reveals a typical street where people scurry to avoid falling not so typical ice blocks, covering their heads with newspapers and briefcases. As the playful music begins—a new rendition of Gene Kelly’s “Singing in the Rain,” from 1950s—now joined by more dancers. Their regular walk transforms into a masterful display of how to dodge ice blocks. :-D
The dancers’ movements take a snowball fight to a whole new level, embodying the nostalgic and romantic feeling of dancing in the rain or snow, just as Kelly iconically did.
One of my favorite moments occurs when the dancers unite to form a line, creating a force to combat a massive block of falling ice. The camera movement follows the the dynamic of force generated by the dancers.
The ad culminates with one of the friends running onto the beach ditching their coat and taking a plunge. We watch ice blocks falling and them carefree swimming in the water as the camera floats above them. A perfect ending after such an intense workout dodging all the ice. LOL
It’s a truly beautiful piece of cinematography, choreography and direction that even after 3 years still continues to be one of my favorite commercials of all time.
