Francesco Majo Helps M&M Make New Imagery

When it comes to big companies and brand-name clients, they’re going to have a lot of stipulations with regards to a photographer’s deliverables. Every small detail needs to be accounted for and checked to make sure they’re in line with the corporate branding guidelines. Francesco Majo experienced this while working on a project with M&M, a far more expansive ask than an earlier assignment with them.

I had worked previously on a few projects for Mars through their Dubai design agency and then for their first M&M ice cream projects in London with JKR London agency.

This time around, Francesco had to adhere to M&M protocol all over the world, as the product looks a little different in each country. Alongside his favorite food stylist, Sebastien Mouraud, Francesco created an impressive outlay of looks to meet the client’s demands. To make matters even trickier, Francesco was working from Barcelona while Sebastien was stationed in France.

Prep was complex and it took more than a month. We had to choose the right shell dimensions and colors. Finally, we decided to go for a grey silicon, 1.5” diameter size shell filled by chocolate in the way to be able to shoot separate elements in a not too different scale.

This production took a long time because it was an international ad and each region where they sell has different recipes and color needs. I mean in the US, Australia, Europe, Asia, M&Ms are different in sizes, colors, and ingredients.

The work ended up in many different medias such as online ads, prints, stores, and packaging.

The nice thing about working with a big client is that they’re usually going be with you every step of the way, so even if the ask is gargantuan like this one, the process is still fairly efficient. And good thing, too, because getting 3D imagery was something that Francesco — and a lot of people involved with the shoot — weren’t too familiar with it coming in. However, that didn’t stop the photographer from serving up some mouth-watering final work.

The toughest part of the brief has been imaging something that would have been processed in 3D. The shoot in London was really technical and on set there were a lot people who couldn’t imagine how the shoots should have looked like after the 3D process. The client was happy as well as the agency and afterwards they came back with other projects to shoot.

Credits:
Food stylist: Sébastien Mouraud
Assistant: Enrico Policardo
Agent: Kate Holmes, SOHO Management

See more of Francesco’s work at francescomajo.com.

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