Every Christmas in Spain, Freixenet Carta Nevada runs its only TV spot for the year. Highly anticipated, it’s more of an event than a spot, not least because each year it features a different A-list celebrity. In 2007, and after 30 years of a campaign which along the way has starred Paul Newman, Liza Minnelli, Demi Moore etc. a changed was needed. It was decided to switch the emphasis from image, though keeping the glamour, to product. To create a piece of cinema felt like the answer. But this time, we’d shift the spotlight from in front of the camera to behind it, from actor to director. Martin Scorsese was the first choice.

The communication objectives were an upgrading of the brand image, maintaining and increasing the audience expectation and putting Freixenet at the front of mind again by creating a piece of branded entertainment that the audience would want to spend time with. We also wanted to create a space for audience interaction in the film making process. The ‘making of’ nature encourages that, especially when guided by Scorsese. But, also, it’s up to the audience to decide who directs next year’s spot.

We premiered the film on the web and screened it 516,043 times in 150 cinemas. Within one month one million visits had been made to the site and YouTube, and 22 television stations had asked to air the film for free as content.