Appointment to view: Cartier collaborates with musicians for short film trilogy

The partnership marks the first time the French jeweller and watchmaker has used social media as part of its marketing strategy.  

The finished films will be shown online through social media sites and in selected US stores.

In order to view the first film online, users must "like" the Cartier Facebook page. They can then share the video and comment on it.

Planning the film took 18 months, with the process to make the final six-minute short taking between six and 10 months.

The planning started when advertising agency and music specialist The Hours first approached Cartier to introduce the brand to music duo Air.

The resulting film is directed by Ben Dickinson. Dickinson is part of  New York-based directors' group the Waverly collective. His previous work includes music videos for LCD Soundsystem and The Rapture.

Titled ‘Painted Love’, the short film follows a theme set down by Cartier, which asks: "How far would you go for love?"

The Hours director, Alexandre Sap and co-founder, Leslie Dubest, previously ran an independent record label in France. They have used their music contacts and specialism to create music-led ad campaigns for clients including Estee Lauder, Citroën and Heineken.

Dubest said: "'Painted Love' is all about the place, good content is driving everything. Great content is something you want to share."

The film has no dialogue and is set in a downtown Manhattan loft. It mixes live action footage with animation.

All drawings in the ad were hand-drawn by animation director Irina Dakeva. They took three months to complete.

Since the campaign was launched, The Hours founders,  Alexandre Sap and Leslie Dubest have set up a new agency, Forward.