Director: Yann Jones
Agency / Production: Ogilvy / TH2NG
Client: Unilever
Locations: Rotterdam, Mumbai, Durban & São Paulo
Location Brief: Photographing Unilever manufacturing plants around the world and the neighbourhoods and communities surrounding them
Working Across Four Countries for Unilever
For Unilever’s Who Are You? and The Maker, I travelled through Rotterdam, Mumbai, Durban and São Paulo, scouting and photographing Unilever manufacturing plants and the communities surrounding them.
Directed by Yann Jones and produced through Ogilvy and TH2NG, the films focused on the people behind Unilever’s products — the workers, makers and places connected to its manufacturing operations around the world.
It was one of those international scouting jobs where you’re constantly working, travelling, uploading photographs and then heading straight to the airport for the next country.
And occasionally trying to squeeze in some dinner.
Tandoori Seafood Under a Mumbai Flyover
I’d been working hard in Mumbai and realised that, despite being in one of the world’s great food cities, I hadn’t actually been out for a proper meal.
I was flying to South Africa first thing the following morning, but I asked the hotel for a restaurant recommendation. I wanted something traditional and, as I love seafood, preferably somewhere known for fish.
The hotel handed me a name scribbled on a scrap of paper and called me a taxi.
We drove for about half an hour.
Eventually we pulled up underneath a huge flyover.
There was the restaurant.
I walked in.
Not one other customer.
You know the saying about never eating in an empty restaurant…
The staff, however, couldn’t have been more welcoming and I thought, what the hell.
What followed was one of the most delicious tandoori seafood meals I’ve ever eaten. Absolutely sublime.
I went back to the hotel slightly concerned about what my stomach might have to say about my adventurous evening, particularly with a flight to South Africa the following morning.
I woke up.
Perfect.
Got to the airport.
Perfect.
Boarded the plane.
Still perfect.
I remember feeling rather pleased with myself.
Then I ate the airline food.
That’s when my stomach started.
So much for the deserted restaurant under the Mumbai flyover.
Don’t Walk to the Beach in Durban
Durban was another experience.
Whenever I’m travelling, I like to get out and walk. It’s one of the best ways to understand a place and, as a location scout, you naturally find yourself constantly looking around anyway.
After dinner one evening, I went back to the hotel and mentioned that I fancied walking down to the beach.
The reaction was immediate.
Forget it.
They told me it was far too dangerous to walk there at night.
That genuinely surprised me.
I’d arrived expecting to wander down to the Durban beachfront and suddenly the hotel staff were effectively telling me to stay put.
Sometimes the reality of a city is very different from the picture you have of it before arriving.
Four Hours Across São Paulo
Then came São Paulo.
What a place.
One of the world’s great megacities, but I don’t think you really understand the sheer scale of it until you arrive.
We landed, looked at the hotel on the map and thought it didn’t seem particularly far from the airport.
Four hours later, we arrived.
The city just seemed to go on forever.
Brazil was preparing for the World Cup and the Rio Olympics, and there was a real sense of investment and ambition in the country. I remember looking out of the airport window in São Paulo and seeing what seemed like thirty brand-new aircraft lined up together.
It was quite a statement.
An Unexpected Trip to Rio
There was a possibility that I might have to continue from Brazil to Vermont in the US, so I hadn’t booked my return flight to London.
When it became clear I was heading home, I tried to book a flight.
Nothing.
The flights were completely full for days.
The only solution was to take a short internal flight to Rio de Janeiro and catch a night flight back to London the following day.
I’d always wanted to visit Rio.
Not exactly how I’d planned to get there, but I’ll take it.
While sitting in the airport lounge waiting for my flight, I spotted a familiar face.
Gareth Southgate.
This was years before he became England manager. At the time he was working with the FA and, from the look of things, appeared to be in Brazil on football business.
With the World Cup approaching, I assumed he was scouting or researching something for the FA.
Meanwhile, I was trying to work out how a Unilever location scout that had started in Rotterdam had somehow ended with me unexpectedly flying to Rio.
Final Thoughts
Who Are You? and The Maker took me through four completely different cities and cultures — Rotterdam, Mumbai, Durban and São Paulo.
The actual location brief focused on Unilever’s manufacturing plants and the communities surrounding them, but, as so often happens with international location scouting, some of my strongest memories are the moments between the work.
A deserted seafood restaurant beneath a Mumbai flyover. Being firmly warned not to walk to the beach in Durban. Four hours crossing São Paulo. And an unexpected flight to Rio.
Sometimes the journey between locations is every bit as memorable as the scout itself.
Here are some of my original location scout photos from the project:
