H&M brings on Baz Luhrmann for lavish short film

Dive Brief:

To help promote its new collaboration with the high fashion house Erdem, H&M turned to director Baz Luhrmann — known for films like "Moulin Rouge!" and "The Great Gatsby" (2013) — for a cinematic, lushly-shot four-minute short called "The Secret Life of Flowers," according to a news release.
The short takes place in a large country mansion stocked with models and actors and tells a mysterious and modern love story that Luhrmann approached as a "whole movie," per the release. The setting, with its strong floral accents, reflects the designs of the prints in the Erdem x H&M line.
"The Secret Life of Flowers" is backed by an exclusive track from the artists Years & Years titled "Hypnotised." Erdem x H&M goes on sale in select H&M stores starting Nov. 2.

Dive Insight:

H&M's short film is a good fit for marketing its new collaborative line, reflecting the lavishness of the clothes and the high style of Erdem, which is normally quite expensive. H&M is a fast fashion brand, popular with young consumers for offering cheaply-priced but trend-conscious apparel, but it's also not shied away from partnering with more top-tier designers, including Karl Lagerfeld, Alexander Wang and now Erdem.

The campaign serves as another instance where a brand is turning to Hollywood-caliber talent to give its video content marketing extra pop and a bigger storytelling element. Luhrmann, through movies like "Romeo + Juliet," "Moulin Rouge!" and "The Great Gatsby," has become famous for his visually extravagant directing style that's clearly well-suited to fashion.

H&M's hope here is that his finesse behind the camera will be enough to draw in viewers and keep them engaged for the film's entire four minutes, providing some entertaining melodrama while still showcasing product. These qualities in marketing are becoming increasingly necessary as more consumers become averse to traditional brand advertising and adopt technology like ad blockers.

Unilever's Dove has taken this approach a step further, launching a standalone production house with the TV showrunner Shonda Rhimes called Real Beauty Productions. Marriott has also seen success with some longer-form content delivered via its "Two Bellman" series, which has become so popular it acts as its own source of revenue.