The book, the film, the t-shirt - Matt Beaumont

One week in the making of a TV commercial for car tyres - told by the inimitable Matt Beaumont, author of e

It's a simple enough proposition. Blackstock Tyres want to advertise their product on TV. They employ an agency, Scheidt Fuller, with a reputation for innovation and creativity - and the trouble begins.

The director's an auteur, the extras think they're in an art movie and the client keeps changing the script. Worse, the stars of the ad were prime-time sitcom lovers on and off screen, darlings of the media - until yesterday, and now they can't stand each other. But they're all professionals, right?

Who'd have thought an allergy to rubber would be so dramatic?