Baby doll, big scene

Preparing their TV debut: a fantasy word made entirely out of paper.

The cost of a TV spot featuring Disney Princesses is not much less than for a production with living models. Impressions of a shoot in Florence.

From September to December, Simba Toys' new commercial will be aired several times a day on children's TV. It lasts just 20 seconds – a third of a minute – but work on it lasted for three long months.

Simba Toys appears regularly on European television with its license themes. For years the firm has sworn by Italian producers Studio Mark. “Florence offers good value for money and they have a lot of specialists with experience in toy commercials,” explains Marketing Manager Jürgen Deschner. In July they were making an ad for the “Disney Princess” mini doll collection and their accessories. The whole twelve-man crew – make-up artists, electricians, cameramen, and the director – focused on a set of stars who were barely ten centimeters high. All the same, there's always somebody fussing over their clothes, cleaning them, giving them a blow-dry, curling their hair as if for a fashion parade. In the clip, two little Italian girls are seen playing with them – they too have to be styled and re-styled, with combs and face powder.

Now a new idea's being tried. The set on which these cuties are due to appear was constructed from white paper. A designer spent three whole weeks cutting out the silhouettes. Other meticulous preparations were going on at the same time, after which the actual filming lasted twelve hours.