These shoots were for print ads/posters. An art director in the the Hamburg office of McCann Erickson arranged a stills shoot every year and assemble a folio of shots which was then sent out to McCann Erickson agencies all over Europe. The local agency then chose shots to run their own campaigns.
The usual format was to go to somewhere where a bunch of yoof – 15-17 – of disparate appearances could be hired for a couple of days to fool around on the beach/in the snow, with Coke bottles in hand.
LA was a useful base because the schools there had yoof of every kind of look – Scandanavian blond, Mediterranean, Asian, South American/Mexican …
In Europe the talent was recruited from an international school. Milan was one source, to go over into CH for the snow.
“did you really get to sleep with all the models, like photographers are supposed to”.
Interestingly, I noted that most photographers did not marry models. David Bailey was, of course, the exception to prove the rule – Catherine Denueve, Marie Helvin …
But you have to realise that these girls know they are lookers and they know the guys with serious wads – City guys – who want that arm candy and who can give them a very good time and expensive stuff.
There were a couple of really lovely girls with whom I should have made a better job of being a deux but I was stupid and the opportunities passed.