“The brief sounded so simple in the initial meetings,” began Sarah Kent, Co-founder of boutique creative agency, Kent Gray, recalling a series of Squid Game ‘takeovers’ throughout Saudi Arabia, to promote the second series of the wildly popular Netflix programme.
Under the creative direction of Dubai-based agency Science & Sunshine, the stunt was part of a global campaign of similar takeovers in other cities, and featured 20 of the show’s distinctive Pink Guards at seven high-profile locations throughout the Kingdom. “From their dramatic arrival at Jeddah airport, to their extensive tour across Saudi Arabia, every move was documented by multiple photography and video crews,” Kent recalled.
Unsurprisingly, a project of this nature came with its fair share of challenges. “Any stunt, activation or film shoot in a public place, no matter where in the world, brings with it a whole heap of red tape and permissions. Filming, road closures, police and location NOCs all need to be researched, negotiated and signed off,” Tom Gray, the other Co-founder explained. “Add Saudi Arabia as your location and the task gets a whole lot more interesting. Then, have the audacity to sprinkle in some historic and UNESCO World Heritage sites to your wish list and suddenly the process takes four times as long and negotiations continue right up to mobilisation on-site – and sometimes beyond.”
With decision-making often proving a hurdle, Gray advised what he described as a “pincer approach” on all permits and permissions. “It’s crucial to invest time, and build relationships with everyone you can, even if they seem too junior. They often help get your proposal in front of the real power players – people you would never have access to otherwise,” he commented. “Saudi is a market that values personal connections – people want to talk to people. It can be incredibly frustrating when you’re looking for the elusive ‘access all areas’ signature, but patience wins. Therefore, it’s important to give yourself as much time as possible to navigate the approvals process.”
While a general shooting permit should suffice for filming in public spaces, the Squid Game takeover project threw up a surprise for the Kent Gray team. “What we didn’t know was that the process had changed the very week we applied for our permit from GCAM, so what usually takes three days stretched to almost two weeks as everyone – including the ministry – fought their way through the new process,” he recalled. “We learned that you must be incredibly specific with your details on this application form – particularly what channels your content will be shown on, and if the primary channels will be social media expect a barrage of clarification questions.”
Once on-site, Kent recommends having a Saudi national who is “fully clued up with all permits” and who has “a personality to smooth situations rather than fan any flames”. He added: “In one instance, we were shooting at a well-known ticketed location, with senior management of that location with us, and we still had someone approach to ask if we had permission to film 20 guards dressed in pink jumpsuits wearing masks… It would have been a very brave film crew to have shot that on the fly!”
Even with all the necessary permits in place, there’s no guarantees that everything will run smoothly. “We were putting out fires on a daily basis,” Gray laughed. “From monkeys stealing crew lunches, to temporary structures built the night before and positioned exactly in front of our hero frame, to ad hoc presidential lunches with helicopter arrivals of foreign dignitaries – Saudi threw us a curveball at every turn.”
These surprises can be expected in every location. “Ensure your crews are flexible and willing to problem-solve on the spot,” he noted. “A prima donna DOP, for example, would have walked off set on day one.”
Despite the live days being some of the most stressful in the life of the agency, the duo are delighted with the results the team achieved. “We delivered unbelievably unique content, that truly captured the very essence of the Kingdom; a campaign segment that truly stood out among the other global locations,” Kent stated. “If you have a bold stunt idea but aren’t sure how to make it happen – especially one with the joys of complex permits – we’d love to hear from you and help turn your vision into reality.”
Photos: Kent Gray
