How do you film a tennis hero on the back of a sperm whale, complete with paparazzi crowded around trying to snap him as he hits perfect tennis volleys? Good question!

The Mill’s Creative Director and Head of 2D Tim Davies comments, “This campaign is definitely amongst the proudest work of my career and this campaign has really raised the bar as far as cinematic and epic quality. The three-week shoot took place in South Africa, where I felt at home as one of five Australians on set. I take my hat off to Steve Rogers’ expert directing, Mandy Walkers’ beautiful cinematography and the exquisite edit from Gavin Cutler. And of course, none of it would be possible without the brilliant minds of our friends at W+K (Portland).”

Adds Tim, “The biggest mandate for this commercial was to film as much as we could next to the ocean, to make it as realistic as possible. We found an Olympic swimming pool adjacent  to the ocean at Camps Bay in Cape Town. Here we could capture the correct lighting, film actors against a beautiful sky, with an in-camera horizon which provided the level of reality needed. We then set about creating the 100% CG sperm whale alongside extremely sophisticated water simulations to show the direction of movement, and the ability to create a wake behind the whale resulting in a completely CG-generated ocean. The hero moment for me is the reveal of our giant customized CG sunglasses.

We look forward to seeing Axel on his next adventure!”