Greatest Hits TV ad for Bon Jovi

Najma Bhatti, a lead director at LOVE Commercials and award-winning production company, Square Zero, has directed an innovative TV commercial for the release of Bon Jovi’s Greatest Hits album. The ad is produced by LOVE Commercials and the post production, animation work and CGI was done by the team at Square Zero. The commercial celebrates the band’s momentous career and draws on its broad fanbase and universal appeal. See the spot here.

Filmed in New York, the TVC features Bon Jovi performing in a series of different rooms, executed by shooting the band against a green screen, allowing them to be composited into the different scenes, each laden with detail to represent the diversity of the band’s catalogue. Pausing in each room to sing a different track, when Jon Bon Jovi enters the final room, the walls suddenly rise up becoming relay screens and the whole space transforms into a fan-filled stadium. This final scene was shot using a combination of green screen and a 3D stage setup placed in existing crowd footage that was multiplied and layered to create a sense of scale.

In order to be able to produce shorter international versions, Jon Bon Jovi’s walk was timed and synchronised to generate a modular piece, allowing footage from each room to be joined together in different orders. Square Zero then handled the CGI-heavy commercial’s animation and post-production process.

Najma Bhatti, Director, Square Zero, says “We wanted the concept to reflect the band’s legendary career and huge fanbase – symbolised by the journey through the rooms and culminating in a huge event to echo the Greatest Hits. Working closely with LOVE Commercials, who coordinated the shoot, we used cutting edge CGI to produce the stadium scene finale. Creating a genuine flexible collection of completed footage was also key during the post production process, so it could be arranged and reordered as required. We were delighted to be invited to work on this project, using our technical expertise to stamp a mark in rock history. ”

The Bon Jovi – Greatest Hits TVC was directed by Najma Bhatti, an award-winning director at SquareZero whose previous projects at the company include the acclaimed ‘Nothing is Impossible’ hologram for the 20th Saatchi & Saatchi New Directors’ Showcase at Cannes Lions 2010.

See the spot here.