Ambitious would be an understatement when describing the four-day shoot for Boots' holiday extravaganza "Gorgeous". Boasting upwards of 25 setups, plus art department, costume and makeup duties that would rival the lushest period piece, every moment counted in chronicling the fabulous lives of house moms.

The spot, from Mother London and directed by David LaChappelle of HSI, follows everyday women doing the menial chores of the holiday season - such as stuffing turkeys, shucking Brussels sprouts, videotaping the school pageant and curling pretty ribbons - and looking like radiant starlets in the process.

Set in 1950s England, the production was shot in Barcelona, which is not an obvious choice given the divergent architectural styles. But a combination of cost-effectiveness, proximity to London and a trusted relationship with Mark Letham of LP Productions sent the shoot to Spain.

"In order to get as many shoot days as we could, we decided to shoot in Barcelona," says HSI managing director Nicola Doring. "But I also knew the type of crew we can get in Barcelona through working with Mark would be fantastic; there's that trust level of working with him."

Considering the speed at which the production moved, HSI's trust was well-placed. Letham says that certain initial locations were scrapped when he got word, two days before everyone was set to arrive, that LaChappelle was looking for a mid-20th century vibe. Letham's crew quickly found an incredible abandoned, dilapidated mansion, rumored to have once belonged to the King of Spain. And with the exception of stylist Bay Garnett, costume, art and makeup departments were sourced locally.

With so many setups, two production crews were employed to dress the sets simultaneously. With demanding 18- to 20-hour days, Doring estimates they shot six days' worth of footage in four.

Still, it wasn't all nose to the grindstone, as the tongue-in-cheek creative of decked-out ladies doing domestic busywork led to some on-set antics. Most harrowing - and riotous - was the scene that took place in a local supermarket.

"It was a local friendly supermarket," recalls Letham. "The deal we had with them was that we'd pull pre-arranged goods off the shelves and throw them in shopping trollies. It started off well but then I think David got bored with that. I think his exact words were 'trash the place', and that's exactly what they did. When the manager arrived he said he was going to call the police - this was all at 3am. Afterwards we tried to work out what the bill was as we sheepishly cleaned up."

Adds Doring: "David gave the direction that this is Armageddon and this is the last food you were going to get. We burned 1,000 feet of film in one take. It's the funniest shoot I've been on in years."

Mother London http://www.motherlondon.com
HSI http://www.hsilondon.com
LP Productions http://www.lpproductions.com