ghd's Tale with a Twist

A new ghd film directed by Floria Sigismondi through RKCR/Y&R London has just been released and, as one would expect from both the brand and the director, it's a lavish, sumptuous and beautifully crafted piece of film. Following on from last year's Rapunzel film, Cinderella is the next to get a make-over in the Twisted Fairlytales caign.

Featuring a selection of interestingly coiffured guests at a decadent ball, the ad follows a young woman who, at the stroke of midnight, is forced to make a sharp exit from the party before stumbling upon a powder room containing ghd Midnight Collection hair straighteners which enable her to restyle her look and beat Prince Charming at his own game.

The nearly-three-minute film is all set to a track by LA-based band Le Rev - which is due to be released in the UK by RKCR's newly formed record label, Two Black Cats - and makes the spot as much a music video as a commercial.

"We wanted something big, bold and over the top," says RKCR's Steve Williams, one of the creatives on the piece. "And following on from last year's Rapunzel ad, Cinderella was the perfect story to add a ghd twist to as everyone thinks they know the ending where she is a victim and her joy is undone. In our version, the styler gives her the confidence to transform herself post-midnight, creating an edgy party look with a few found items close to hand."

Believe Media's Floria Sigismondi is a veteran of edgy but glamorous music videos and was surely the perfect choice to direct the spot.

"We had long admired Floria's surreal commercials for MAC cosmetics with their surreal imagery and incredible costumes, as well as her highly imaginative music videos for The White Stripes and Muse," says Adrian Lim, creative at RKCR.

"We really wanted her to direct last year's Rapunzel spot but she was unavailable at the time as she was already working on the Joan Jett biopic, The Runaways."

Describing what Sigismondi brought to the project, Lim says: "Floria is something of a creative visionary; she has a sense of style and inventiveness that you're not going to get from a typical commercials director. Her energy was unflagging, even though the shoot went on well into the small hours each day.

We were also really impressed with the way she never stopped thinking about new ideas, right up until the point of filming she was introducing new concepts for costumes, props, make-up and hairstyles. She really gave this project 110 per cent."

You can read more about Sigismondi's creative style, approach and history in the new issue of shots Magazine, out next month, which features a full interview with the director and a retrospective of her work on the DVD.