This campaign appeared online and on TV across Europe, for this reason it is difficult to describe the current situation in particular to any one market.

The films were created in line with OFCOM regulations and were processed where required by any local clearance bodies. We were not required to adapt the films in any way as a result of any regulatory stipulations.

Late at night, in the cold months of autumn and winter, wild deer from a forest in Essex, UK, venture on to a nearby housing estate to crop grass from the verges and lawns.

The brief for the Canon ‘Urban Deer’ commercial was to film these shy, unpredictable animals in as natural and uncontrived way as possible. We wanted viewers to feel they were right there with the deer, almost as if they were themselves part of the pack.

Planning began six months before the actual shoot.

Over many nights, the deer’s favoured routes around the estate were monitored.

For the shoot itself, we positioned over twenty motion-sensitive cameras along these routes, hiding them in bins, bushes, phone booths. Connecting the cameras took nearly 3km of cabling. The bulbs in all the street lamps were changed to enhance the lighting,

We had only five nights to get the footage we needed. Most of the time we got nothing. The weather was warm in October and the deer seemed to find most of the food they needed in the forest.

There were no deer wranglers, and no trained deer. All we could do to encourage or re-direct the deer’s movements was to bait the roads with their favourite food, rotten apples. The crew hid in houses on the estate, drinking a lot of coffee, and hoping.

We got through 43 kg of rotten apples and 32kg of coffee.

For those who have been exposed to the campaign, their brand motivation increased by 28% and the perception that Canon is a forward thinking and inspiring brand increased by 25%. The campaign succeeds in changing the perception of the Canon brand making it more relevant, stylish and bigger than just a camera manufacturer.