For a time one could read the slogan ‘what a pity concrete doesn’t burn!’ all over the place. In response the German concrete lobby started an advertising campaign that spectacularly showed the advantages of this material. The campaign stated “Let’s hope it’s concrete!’, and so this theme fits very well. This image is now widely known as an icon in the world of advertising photography.
The scenes were photographed in a studio in London, with the help of model maker Jerry Judah. The set for the photo shoot existed of three elements: the bridge, the elephants and the cliffs. The cliffs were carved from polystyrene blocks and were then covered with mortar and pigment powder. All in all the set was 5m wide and 3m high.
Four elephants were created and from those casts. They were all given different trunks and ears which made them all individual. The background is a landscape shot from Hawaii.
During the work I received a fax from the client: I should make a technical drawing of the bridge, as they wanted to check the structural dimensions! I was not at all prepared for this - I was just making an image for advertising. We drew the plan for the bridge, and see, the bridge really did work! That didn’t really surprise me, as I had adopted the design from an actual bridge ...