Jo Malone London’s latest campaign film, Drifted Dreams, approaches fragrance storytelling through a cinematic visual language that blends reality and dreamlike environments.
Produced in Dubai at Pixojam Virtual Production Studio, the campaign uses virtual production to transition between physical performance and digitally constructed worlds.
Developed as an atmospheric film to support a fragrance launch, the project focuses on translating scent into visual experience.
By using controlled LED environments and carefully designed lighting, the campaign builds a visual narrative that reflects the emotional and sensory qualities associated with the Jo Malone universe.
Concept and creative idea of Drifted Dreams
The core creative concept behind Drifted Dreams was to build a seamless film where real and dream worlds gradually merge. Instead of separating reality and fantasy into different visual spaces, the idea was to allow the viewer to move naturally between them.
A central creative challenge was maintaining a visual language consistent with the Jo Malone universe. The brand aesthetic is defined by surreal elegance, refinement, wonder and a sense of quiet magic.
For this reason, the film emphasises subtle transitions, soft lighting and controlled visual compositions that support a poetic and dreamlike atmosphere.
Through these visual elements, the campaign attempts to translate the layered nature of fragrance into cinematic form.
Production and execution of the Jo Malone London campaign
The campaign was produced through close collaboration between the client, creative directors, the production house and the virtual production team at Pixojam.
The teams worked together from the early concept development stage through production to ensure that the film captured the intended atmosphere and narrative, beginning with reference images drawn from Jo Malone’s dreamy visual universe.
Pixojam’s Unreal Engine artists then created all virtual environments from scratch, crafting backgrounds that achieved the fairy-like mood the campaign required and shaping the entire visual world of the film.
Filming took place at the Pixojam LED Volume in Dubai, where large LED environments allowed the creative team to construct the visual worlds required for the story.
Unlike traditional location shooting, this approach enabled the cinematography and lighting design to interact directly with the digital environments surrounding the actors.
This workflow allowed the director and cinematographer to adjust mood, colour and environment in real time, maintaining visual consistency throughout the film.
Technology and approach
The film was shot entirely using virtual production at the Pixojam LED Volume.
The setup used throughout the shoot was a bespoke virtual production workflow fully built in-house by Pixojam, designed specifically to provide flexibility and creative freedom in constructing the different environments required for the narrative.
As this was the second Jo Malone commercial produced at Pixojam, the collaboration between creative and technical teams was already established.
This familiarity supported efficient teamwork and allowed the teams to push creative boundaries while maintaining the refined visual style expected from the brand.
Virtual Production also made it possible to create smooth visual transitions between environments, which is essential for the dreamlike narrative structure of the campaign.
Drifted Dreams campaign rollout
Drifted Dreams was developed as a cinematic brand film supported by additional visual assets for digital platforms.
The campaign includes film content, campaign visuals and still photography designed for use across online brand channels and social media platforms.
This approach allows the campaign to maintain a consistent visual identity while adapting to different formats and platforms.
Strategic and cultural insight behind the work
The strategic insight behind the campaign was to use Virtual Production as a method for blending reality and fantasy while preserving the visual identity of Jo Malone.
By creating both worlds within a controlled virtual environment, the creative team could build a fluid narrative that reflects the brand’s elegance, imagination and sensory storytelling.
The approach also made it possible to design a seamless looping structure in the film, reinforcing the timeless and dreamlike quality associated with the Jo Malone universe.
For luxury fragrance storytelling, where atmosphere and visual mood are essential, Virtual Production offers a way to combine creative ambition with technical precision.
CREDITS
Client: Estée Lauder Companies
Brand: Jo Malone London
Creative Director: Tarek Sabbouh Associate
Creative Director: Mouana Sabeh
Art Director: Maria Khairallah
Creative Agency and Production House: CRATER
Virtual Production Studio: Pixojam Virtual Production Studio
Dubai Studio General Manager: Azin Samarmand
Colour and Immersivity Pipeline Manager: Michael Lagerwey
VP Supervisor: Hugo Weichert
Unreal Engine Artist: Mina Hosseini
Unreal Engine Artist: Aleksander Dippenaar
Director: James Hulbert
Director of Photography: Toby Plummer 1st AD: Reece Lynch
Art Direction: Aces of Space
Art Director: Samantha Baker
Image Director: Yehia Bedier
Wardrobe Stylist: Ahmed Rashwan
Hair Stylist: Steve Wahab
Make-up Artist: Hani Kleib
Colorist: Nic Apostoli
Music Composer: Jonny Higgins
Beauty Photographer: Gustavo Chams
Product Photographer: Sabrina Rynas
