Exciting News!

For us that is. You're probably not that fussed one way or the other are you?

Anyway, after nearly 17 years at WCRS we're moving on to pastures new. McGarry Bowen to be precise (or McGarrybowen as they like to be known - can't let those pesky spaces get in the way now can we?)

We start on 7th April and can't wait to get stuck into some new briefs and work with some lovely new people.

You can read all about it here.

Martin Fucking Who?

Things were going along nicely with Churchill - we were writing some funny little ads and the client was very, very happy.

Then Martin Clunes had to go and ruin it by losing his licence for speeding.

Weirdly, he seemed to think it was odd that Churchill shouldn't want to pay a man who couldn't drive to advertise a product that only people who can drive can use, but everyone else saw it differently. As this great article from The Independent's Grace Dent brilliantly testifies.

The main problem was that we were due to shoot the next set of ads in the campaign around the time that the ban came to light, so we were thrown into a bit of a turmoil. We put out some 10 second offer ads to fill the gap, then got to work finding a replacement and re-writing the campaign to fit the new celebrity.

It was a bit of a fractious couple of months, but in the end we're pretty happy where we've got to.

We've used Dawn French who is really popular with the target market, and is also a really good on-screen fit with Churchill. She feels like she's been with him for ages. We have the launch ad for this campaign on our online folio page, so if you'd like to see it just click here.

We shot another 4 ads, which will air over the next month or so. We'll post them up as they're finished.

They were once again shot by the brilliant Dominic Brigstocke, through Tomboy, and were excellently produced by Lizzie Mabbut at WCRS (despite the distinct lack of lunchtime post-production sessions).

Oh, Predictable Affirmative Gag!

We've finally put our Churchill TV on our Carbonmade site. Well, four of them anyway - there is another ad waiting an air date and a couple more in development, so it looks as if it's going to be an ongoing project for the foreseeable future.

This project took a long, long time - perhaps as long as a year, with things changing and evolving right up to the shoot. We're happy with how things turned out, which given some of the pitfalls along the way we never thought we'd be able to say.

The ads were shot by Dominic Brigstocke at Tomboy, and post was done by Glassworks, with Nick at Angel providing his magic on the sound. TV production at WCRS was done by the lovely Eileen and Lizzie.

We hope you like.

Happy New Year!

Here we both are on set with new, improved Churchill whose latest campaign (which we wrote) will be on your telly from tomorrow. There are five 30 second adverts in all and they should all be on air by the end of January. We'll post them here when we've got them all finished. 

In Your Face, Bitches!

Last night Jane and I picked up an ANNA for this BMW April Fool ad from last year. Although we didn't actually pick up the award as we weren't there. Jane was at a singing lesson and I was doing bedtime stories.

Anyhoo, we won in the Topicality section. You can read more here.

Exciting Times!

2011 is only 25 days old and already the advertising world is left shuddering by the news that we've only gone and done some actual, real-life, appearing-in-magazines-and-all-that-sort-of-shit advertising.

As I write Jane is in a darkened studio in Acton, watching as a top-notch photographer moves a light a tiny amount to the left, stands back, thinks for a bit, then moves the light back to where it was in the first place.

THIS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!IS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!ADVERTISING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

It's a campaign for BMW announcing their sponsorship of the 2012 Olympic Games. Many cars are being shot, as are athletes and then (using the magic of computers) these two seemingly opposite entities will be merged, melded and formed to make one seamless piece of visual communication. Or some adverts as you and I might call them. Watch this space and we'll post them as we complete them.

And that's not all - we've also done a campaign for BMW flogging cars in the wake of the VAT rise. A very exciting brief as you can imagine, but the resultant print ads we devised look pretty nice and work quite well.

If that wasn't enough (I feel Brenda in the photo above may have a stroke if she reads this) we're hopefully going to get some pitch work we did last year made real in the next 8 weeks. 

It really is, as Shakespeare might haves said, "all go" at the moment.

Time for a sit down I think.

Bum Cheeks

Good God - we've only gone and done an ad!

After what seems like an age of pitching and producing work only to fall at research we've actually made a new TV advert!

It's for Radox Shower Smoothies and features the words "Bum Cheeks" for the first time on British Television (this may or may not be true - don't know, don't care).

Anyway, it was shot by the lovely Jess Koppel and features the voice of the lovely Lucy Montgomery, and was produced by the lovely Laura Lebbon. Lovely.

Diddley Dee Farmers

Hey, look at this - Jane and I have been doing some work since our last post. It's a new Kerrygold ad, where the farmers tell us about their Kerrygold Community Awards which aims to help local ventures in need of help. All very altruistic.

It's in Adwatch apparently, which seems like a good excuse for a pint at lunchtime. We're both immensely proud and honoured and there's a little tear in my eye as I write.

Anyway, it was directed and edited by David Stevens at the Assembly Rooms, produced by Eileen Rafferty, and put together by assorted lovely types in and around Soho (Jane?).

We're also in the midst of a new Radox TV ad, and a BMW pitch. So, there may be some more posts in the near future.

Ooh! I hear you say.

Beema Baby

Rubbish pun, but hey - look at some of the other crap I've written down the years. What else were you expecting?

Anyway, quick update:

1. We helped retain the BMW account for Engine and WCRS. Which is nice.
2. We've moved to a window seat in the department so now the beauty of the sky can really torment us whenever we have to work late on a rubbish 24X4 ad for one of our less exciting clients.
3. We're working on more Radox.
4. And Jane is to become an auntie in October. Hence the headline of the blog. (See what I did there? Always on the ball).

Stay tuned for more excitement in the coming weeks, when hopefully we'll finally get our online portfolio up to date and ship-shape, and maybe get around to sending this blog to all and sundry.

Done Some Radio

We've done some radio ads for Radox. Basically it's someone in a shower, making up lyrics to a song on their radio about their day. They were recorded at Wave, produced by Joe Pawsey (who is shit at pool) and performed by Lucy Montgomery.

The client's not approved them yet, so they'll probably change and that, but you can listen to them by clicking on the video. We've tarted them up by adding pictures of radios.

We truly are wacky in the extreme.

Pitch Lost

We didn't win the pitch. It was all Jane's fault.

Also, a Radox radio campaign we recorded before Christmas has been pulled by the head client. That was Jane's fault too.

Oh, and all that snow we're having... you know where this is heading...

Life's a Pitch

Shocking pun, but the best I could do while sitting in a recording studio doing narratives. 

Still, we'll be done soon and then it's back to work to fret as a pitch group. 

Happy Days.

The Clocks Go Back (Sponsored by Radox)

A while ago we had the idea of hijacking the clocks going back as part of our Radox 'Be Selfish' campaign. 

Jane and our good friend Alistair Campbell (Digital Creative Director at WCRS) did a viral with some bloke from Eastenders stripping off while talking about what the clocks going back means.

We also wrote a couple of print ads which will be popping up on Friday and Saturday. There are shelf wobblers and other such guff, but you're probably past caring at this point.

You can see the viral here as well as discovering that women (well, at least the ones on this website) are just as obsessed about sex as men. 

The print ads are below.

Back to Work

After two weeks of DIY and flat admin' in preparation for selling up and moving further into the wilderness of Essex, I return to work to news of a load of redundancies at WCRS, moral as low as an old dog's balls, and a Kerrygold brief to support Leek Town FC.

I've got that joy, joy, joy, joy, joy, down in my heart... down in my heart... down in my heart!

Everyone!

New Sun Football TV Ad (Kind of Like Last Sun Football TV Ad)

Just when you thought we couldn't eek out any more from our day at the New Den with Terry, Harry and Ian, we've managed to eek out some more from our day at the New Den with Terry, Harry and Ian. 

This is the 3rd spot for The Sun football, and has taken some time to get approved and out.

There's also going to be some national 48 sheet posters, press in The Sun and The Times, and loads of other stuff, but for the sake of your sanity and ours we've decided not to post it up on the site. 

"Our Brilliant New Commercial"

Not our words, but the words of Sun Football journalist P.Jiggins. Who is obviously employed by The Sun. And not likely to say "Look at this load of crap". So... yeah... You can read his gushing article here by the way.

Anyway, after days of mind meltdown, constant running around and strained nerves, we've finally got an approved commercial, which will run in the Holland .v. England match tonight. 

Many thanks to director Austen Humphries, and all who worked on it at Rattling Stick, WCRS, Angel Sound, Workpost and The Mill.

There is also some print in the campaign, of which these three 48 sheet posters are the first. Photography is by David Clerihew.