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The film, ‘les nouvelles chaussures’, is one of the last to be directed

by Vaughan and Anthea, the Federation duo who split up last week

(±±¾©Èü³µpk10, 9 August). It breaks in cinemas nationally on Friday, backed

by a pounds 6 million media spend through Motive Communications. The

campaign will roll out on to national TV next year.

The commercial maintains Stella’s long-running ‘reassuringly expensive’

theme and, like its predecessors ‘Monet’, ‘Jacques’ and ‘the good

Samaritan’, has the feel of the classic French film, Jean de Florette.

‘Les nouvelles chaussures’, which comes in a 60- and 90-second version,

is set in a tiny village. It opens on a poor young man and his

grandmother admiring a pair of red satin shoes in a shop window. The

young man resolves to buy the shoes for the old woman, whose feet are

clad in tattered clogs, and the film takes the viewer through the many

arduous tasks the hero undertakes to raise enough cash.

Finally, he emerges triumphantly from the shop holding the precious

shoes. Unfortunately, at this moment he spies a barmaid pouring a glass

of Stella Artois in a nearby bar. Licking his lips, he looks guiltily at

his new purchase, and then makes his decision.

In the next scene our hero is enjoying a pint of Stella Artois as his

grandmother arrives. He quickly assuages his guilt by thinking up a

cheap and cheerful solution to her footwear problems by tearing up a

beer-mat, which he slips into one of her shoes to cover a large hole.

The grandmother is delighted and hugs her grandson enthusiastically. Her

mood changes, however, when she spies her dream shoes on the barmaid’s

feet.

The commercial was written by Paul Silburn and art directed by Vince

Squibb at Lowes. It is the first piece of work created by the pair

since they joined forces earlier this year.

The TV and cinema campaign is backed by a heavyweight press blitz

running in 14 style magazines until November.