PIMMS GETS THE KUNTZ TREATMENT

On an unusually temperate May afternoon shots headed north to London's swish Holland Park to meet up with Tom Kuntz on the set of his latest job - a juicy Pimms commercial through Mother. We took a camera. We followed him round a bit. Here are the results.

Stepping out of a sweltering tube and ascending up into the tree-lined walks of the particularly swanky Holland Park the first thing we thought was "Kuntz is filming here? God help them." Five minutes down the road, and several GPS mis-directions later, the strains of a funk soundtrack come wafting round the corner and we're on set with a heavily bearded Mr K. Having stalked him for our Cannes issue it's entirely possible he's beginning to consider some sort of restraining order (jokes are made about having "my own personal journalist"), but for now the security are keeping a watchful eye from the sidelines.

The latest outing for the much-loved British summer drink of choice, Pimms' The Call Up, is a creative twist on the eight ingredients that go to making the perfect Pimms. Mother creatives Peter Robertson and Susan Hosking are hanging on set so we pick their brains on the concept behind the spot. "We wanted to maintain the heritage of the brand which is posh and premium with a distinctive sense of humour," explains Robertson. "We also wanted to add a bit of coolness, quirkiness, and aspiration."

As we're chatting Kuntz is giving instructions to a traditional English gentleman, a guy dressed as a builder and a 70s funkster hanging by a classic car. "We wanted to show a gang of unlikely characters who represent the individual elements of the perfect Pimms coming together to bring serious fun to a back garden BBQ," explains Hosking, motioning towards the motley crew nodding along to the gesticulations of Kuntz.

Not long after we arrive it's time to break for lunch and it's a brief bus ride up to Holland Park proper. Joining Kuntz in the lunch crew (with one suspicious eye firmly locked on the lingering peacock hanging out in the bushes) it's time to shoot some shit with the man himself. As we're queuing to collect a roast dinner I ask him if he's aware of the strength of the Pimms brand in the UK. "Yeah - I knew Pimms was 'all things British sunny afternoon'," he grins. "I'd seen my English friends guzzle jugs of the stuff. It's great when a brand stands for so much and is embraced like that. It's always nice to have some good will towards a brand when you're advertising it."

Heading up to the top of a repurposed double decker bus we start chatting about the styling on the job. Each of the characters has a specific look and feel - from Strawberry the bright red dog to the (by now) much talked about Lemonade girls.

"I really wanted the gang to all be very different but somehow all feel real enough as characters that they might truly feel like some cast of some old bizarre TV show or film. Because of that I really wanted to lean into styling from the past because I didn't feel like this sort of gang should feel too contemporary."

Between mouthfuls of veg I ask Kuntz who's styled the spot. "Ah yes, Mr Gammon," he says. "He was the perfect man for the job. We've worked together numerous times going way back to the Avalanches video in 2001. He's a tasty man."

As if on cue a particularly dapper moustachioed gentleman appears beside us. Hands are shook and an update given on the character orange - a perma-tanned sixty-something with an aversion to sun cream. Soon enough we're back on the bus to the set. Miraculously the weather's holding out and spirits are high. (Yes, that was a terrible pun. Apologies.)

As Kuntz gets down to business setting up the next scene with DP Mattias Montero ("Mattias is Swedish and just so damn buff. Our actors were so odd looking that I really just needed someone as breathtakingly handsome as him to balance out the atmosphere on set," Kuntz clarifies in an email later), the Lemonade girls pitch on set at which point all journalistic focus is lost.

Leaving the cast and crew to get on with the task at hand we bid adieu to uber-producer Suza Horvath, who's arranged our little visit, and slip silently off down the street as the funk kicks in again and Holland Park comes under the control of Kuntz.

Check out The Call Up here