Italian watch brand Morellato, which entered India a year ago, through a joint venture with Gitanjali Gems that made Morellato watches and jewellery available in India, has created its first television commercial.

The brand has announced actors Preity Zinta and Neil Nitin Mukesh as its ambassadors. Dion Lilywhite, vice-president, Timepieces, Gitanjali Lifestyle, says that the international appeal of both these actors helped in narrowing the search.

Zinta has been on the international circuit for a while now, gracing the red carpet at Cannes a couple of years ago and co-owning an IPL team. Though Mukesh is a new kid on the Bollywood block, it was his chiseled features that bagged the deal for him. The pair has already appeared in a couple of prints ads for the brand.

The TVC has been created by Fortune Communications. The brief that the agency received was to capture the intimate moments between a man and a woman. Also imperative was to encapsulate the luxury that the brand offers.

The film opens on Zinta, dressed in red, walking up a cobbled path in anticipation. She is obviously waiting for someone, as she glances at her watch. Mukesh walks up from behind and covers her eyes. She turns around to see that it’s him, but is miffed that he’s late. She soon discovers why he was late, he had been making some arrangements to profess his love for her.

The ad has no dialogue between the protagonists. There is only a song in the background and narration to fill up the spaces. The creative team went to Italy for a recce, so that visuals of the city could be reflected in the film. The rest of the ad was done in India, as Zinta could not spare time off to travel to Italy due to the IPL. Marlon Rodriguez shot the ad.

Zinta has endorsed a handful of products in the past, including Pepsi, Godrej eon and Vatika shampoo. She was also announced brand ambassador for GoAir and National Geographic Channel. As for Mukesh, this is his among his first endorsements.