Gemma Collins Turns 'Cleanfluencer' in Surf Brand Ambassador Spot

Director Emily Freda Sharp & Fresh Films worked with adam&eveDDB to direct the iconic Surf brand ambassador and self-titled Cleanfluencer Gemma Collins. The creatives Julia and Sam built a bold, playful campaign that utilised Gemma's unique cocktail of relatability and glamour. Tapping into some of the most iconic faux pas’ from Gemma’s career anchored the films within the kind of memeable moments that are the building blocks of our digital social currency. 

With a personality as bold as the GC’s it was important for Emily that her direction enabled the GC to just do her thing, building her direct relationship to the viewer and ad-lib her way to memable gold. 

“For me, I think it’s the juxtaposition of Gemma’s glossy, polished style and her open, honest personality that makes her so well loved, and so it’s from this that I felt we should draw inspiration for the tone of our films. Staged in her perfect, pink utility room, Gemma reminds us that no matter how cute the outfit was we’ve all got dirty laundry to air,” observes Emily.

“When thinking about the direction for Gemma’s performance I looked at several other glamorous, comedic personalities and the ways in which they shine on film. From Barbara Windsor to Juno Birch and the Spice Girls, these touchstones helped to steer the cheeky, brassy, bold rapport with the viewer that we wanted to bring to life. 

“Working with our brilliant art director, Adam Zoltowski we set out to exaggerate the comedic tone of the films by taking a stylistic and eccentric approach to our set design. There were many filmic references but ‘But I’m A Cheerleader’ (1999) took centre stage as a great reference for how domestic spaces can be made to feel campy and surreal through the use of extreme colour palettes. Following this theme through into the colour grade, with influences such as ‘The Stepford Wives’ and Greener Grass’; enabling us to weave our glamorous, campy intentions into every facet of the overall result.”

The film can be seen across across multiple channels - both digital and OOH - our campy campaign launched Surf into the TikTok space and beyond.