Written by new-contact on Jan 24, 2012. Posted in Production News

Smith and Jones Films doubles Barcelona for the US in new Dr Pepper spot

Barcelona has stood in for the US in a new commercial for Dr Pepper. Always One of a Kind shows a crowd of people surging through a picturesque but anonymous American city as they assert their individuality with T-shirts summing up their personalities.

The Spanish city was the only location that the production considered, partly because it was convenient for the spot’s UK-based Director, Ulf Johansson. Locations included Barcelona's train station, post office and the town hall, as well as the fashionable El Born district.

We only used visual effects on the final overhead plaza shot to make that scene look a bit more like an American city.

Tricia Hoover, Executive Producer

Tricia Hoover was Executive Producer for agency Deutsch: “We only used visual effects on the final overhead plaza shot to make that scene look a bit more like an American city. It's the only time you see a wide [shot] of the city, so we added in some more skyscrapers in the distance, made the two buildings to the right and left a bit taller, and took out the ‘Euro’-feeling statues which were on the building.”

Some 1,200 extras were used, with the majority hired locally in Barcelona and around 25 of the principles flown in from places like the UK. With this many people production was inevitably slowed down, but the biggest challenge with the cast was getting US-style wardrobe for everyone.

Dominic Bolus was Producer for Barcelona-based Widescope Productions: “We shot over five days and finished at the weekend, when we were closing down whole streets. We had a large crew and the locations all had to be close together as you can only move that number of people so far.”

Hoover says productions should be aware of the time it takes to secure the right permits and permissions, especially for those used to filming in Los Angeles. Small niggles aside, she had a good shoot coloured by one or two experiences with the locals.

We did get a bucket of water thrown on us at Video Village by a local restaurant owner who thought we were blocking his business.

Tricia Hoover, Executive Producer

She adds: “We did get a bucket of water thrown on us at Video Village by a local restaurant owner who thought we were blocking his business. We had just wrapped at that location and he wanted to make sure we weren't there when they opened. It was slightly annoying, but we all had a good laugh!”

Aside from the low-key visual effects the team removed any stronger Barcelona identifiers with changes like removing local signage and Spanish number plates. In the spot the city is intended to have an American vibe without being identifiable as a specific place.

Credits:
Client: Dr Pepper Snapple Group
Agency: Deutsch, Los Angeles
Executive Producer: Tricia Hoover
Production Company: Smith & Jones, London
Executive Producer/Line Producer: Philippa Smith
Production Service Company: Widescope Productions, Barcelona
Producer: Dominic Bolus
Director of Photography: Andrzej Sekular
Director: Ulf Johansson