IT’S ABOUT BLOODY TIME

Our original brief from Lewes FC was to communicate their commitment to gender equality across football, this was our latest campaign featuring some of their other social purpose initiatives.

CHALLENGE

We developed the launch film when they became the first club in the world to pay their women’s and men’s team the same and this time were asked to put together a whole campaign showcasing the club’s other initiatives across the social purpose spectrum – gambling sponsorship, community ownership and gender equality.

Specifically the club wanted to grow their ownership base to over 2000 in a 6 month period.

INSIGHT

Ironically we based our insight on the success of the Vote Leave campaign – built on a simple rallying cry that was able to capture the frustrations in a single line.

We also decided to talk to local people who were the bulk of the target for recruiting new owners and tap into their anger about the state of the game.

IDEA

Using the organising idea approach we arrived at a unifying thought we could ladder all the different executions up to. ‘It’s About Bloody Time’ beautifully captured the mood of the people we met.

It was a highly emotional thought, vernacular and authentic, and played to the anger of our target – ‘we’ve had enough’.

It was also ownable and future-proof, and crucially allowed us to set up a range of provocations and questions to which ‘It’s About Bloody Time’ was the answer.

EXECUTION

Shooting on location we filmed a range of people in a portrait style. Casting locals in their natural context helped to increase authenticity. We asked them to respond to a range of provocations with ‘It’s About Bloody Time’ delivered direct to camera.

This directness added emotional power to the executions rather than having them speak to an interviewer. Using this technique we feel directly spoken to.

The films were cut together with questions appearing as supers on the screen and signed off with a VO explaining that Lewes FC are Fans of Change and inviting viewers to join the club.

OUTCOME

Lots of favourable press coverage including helping Lewes become Team of The Year in The Times, and crucially reaching the goal of attracting new members taking the current total to over 2000 in 37 countries around the world.

Miraculous Meals is a revolutionary concept in the world of dog food – a brand that not only prioritises the highest quality ingredients and eco-friendly practices but also channels 50% of its profits back into dog charities.

CHALLENGE

The challenge presented to us was to develop a brand for Miraculous Meals that not only highlighted the superior quality of its products and eco credentials but also focussed on storytelling. The chief issue was that people were abandoning their dogs bought during Covid and the number of strays was increasing exponentially. We therefore needed to create a brand that would resonate with consumers emotionally, prompting them to share and engage with it on social media platforms. The key objective was to establish Miraculous Meals as a brand with a purpose, one that people would talk about and feel inspired to support.

INSIGHT

Recognising that the exceptional quality of the dog food and its eco-friendly attributes were already inherent in the brand, we identified the power of storytelling as a unique way to connect with consumers on a deeper emotional level.

By emphasising the idea that purchasing Miraculous Meals can lead to new stories of rescue dogs finding loving homes, we tapped into the emotional bond between dogs and their owners.

IDEA

The central organising idea for Miraculous Meals was built around the concept of 'Storytelling.' The key message was that by choosing Miraculous Meals customers could contribute to making miracles happen, transform lives, support dog charities and create heartwarming stories of new owners finding their perfect canine companions.

EXECUTION

To bring the concept to life, we explored various name ideas, ultimately selecting "Miraculous Meals" as the most fitting. Working with renowned illustrator Tom Clohosy Cole, we created a 360-degree design that captured the miraculous nature of the bond between dogs and their owners. Special attention was given to tin designs, leveraging the online-only nature of the product to showcase elaborate illustrations. The overall brand identity, including colors, fonts, and graphic styling, was meticulously crafted to convey the essence of Miraculous Meals.

The focus extended to the packaging, with a special 12-pack gift box designed to be a keepsake. The clean and bright design celebrated the storytelling elements portrayed in Tom's illustrations. The minimal text allowed the visual elements to take centre stage, emphasising the emotional connection with the brand.

OUTCOME

The launch of Miraculous Meals proved to be a success, with notable figures like Will Young expressing enthusiasm and support for the brand. The combination of a compelling narrative, high-quality products, and a commitment to charitable causes resonated with consumers, leading to positive engagement and word-of-mouth promotion. The brand has set the stage for further growth and impact, with the promise of more inspiring stories to come. Watch this space for the continued success and evolution of Miraculous Meals.

SEEN 10 DIFFERENT WAYS

This was a unique opportunity to work with the UK’s leading ethical fashion brand and a brilliant example of how we collaborate with other partners.

CHALLENGE

We were asked to develop a concept for Stella McCartney that could be shot by 10 different directors from the National Film & Television School to deliver 10 separate pieces of content from the same script. The budgets were tiny, the time short, the imagination limitless.

INSIGHT

The Stella McCartney brand is built on a great idea – acknowledging that more people than ever care about where and how their fashion is made. But clearly most fashion ads have no idea in. They rely on ‘transference’ where the benefits associated with a famous model or actress are transferred to the brand. So, we thought, let’s try making a fashion commercial with an actual idea in it and see what happens.

IDEA

Keeping it simple to allow for multiple interpretations but using a classic flip, we wrote a script that talks about what the brand doesn’t use rather than what it does. Calling out the absence of those elements usually deemed necessary to make a fashion brand interesting, thus dramatising the distinctivity between Stella and other labels.

EXECUTION

We ended up with 10 brilliantly different films showcasing the talent of the NFTS as well as the unique style of Stella McCartney. A lovely collaboration - and how many times do you get to see your script shot in 10 different ways?

OUTCOME

Talkability. Interesting content for an interesting brand. A world away from the usual same-old films often found on fashion sites.

Revive & Thrive

An example of how to reposition a much loved brand, and showcase their commitment to sustainability, without losing the things that people love about it.

CHALLENGE

Revival was keen to to move away from being a ‘magical step back in time’ and establish itself as an immersive celebration of a less disposable world – a time when ‘make do and mend’ was a way of life rather than just a slogan.

We were asked to promote the brand pillars of Reduce, Re-use, Repair, Restore and Recycle in the most authentic way and produce a brand film that could be used everywhere, including cut-downs for social.

INSIGHT

Everyone loves Revival, and they love sustainability too - so rather than explaining the new position ourselves from the outside we decided to ask the people who were there to explain how it felt as they experienced it from the inside.

A fresh, seamless and authentic way to reposition the brand without losing the stuff that makes people go in the first place.

IDEA

The organising idea for Revival was based on a simple thought – ‘Revive & Thrive’; neatly building on the brand name and introducing the sustainability creds we were trying to establish.

We used the prefix idea to deliver all the RTBs like Recycle, Reduce & Restore and wove in some other Revival benefits like Remembering, Refreshing, Revitalising and Retail. The beauty of the RE prefix is that allowed us to cover the whole spectrum of what Revival offers in a consistent and playful way.

EXECUTION

We shot at Revival over four days with four crews – including a high speed Phantom camera, covering the whole event and capturing what people were feeling in the moment. The Phantom footage gives the films a distinctive ownable look and feel, literally capturing a moment in time.

We also spoke to lots of A-list celebrities who were having the time of their lives, people like Stanley Tucci, Chris Evans, Rowan Atkinson even Twiggy, the type of people who would never consider doing a commercial but were more than happy to be in our commercial – a perfect expression of the power of Revival to put a smile on anyone’s face.

OUTCOME

Revival sold out. Quicker than ever.

Child's Farm, a brand committed to using responsibly sourced, natural ingredients that are gentle on the skin, planet, and people, approached us with a unique challenge. With up to 99% natural ingredients in each bottle and packaging made from Prevented Ocean Plastic, the brand sought to expand its product range while maintaining its distinctive illustration style.

CHALLENGE

The challenge presented to us was to create a contemporary and evolutionary redesign of the Child's Farm brand and packaging. The issue was the level of confusion consumers encountered across the range. Thus the goal was to establish clarity and consistency across all brand messaging while celebrating the beloved illustrations. With a growing product range and over 60 SKUs across four different product ranges, the challenge was to create packaging architecture that would provide uniformity and guidance.

INSIGHT

While Child's Farm was adored by both children and parents, navigating the extensive product range proved to be confusing and unclear. Our insight was essentially to simplify and streamline the brand's packaging architecture, ensuring that consumers could easily distinguish between products while still enjoying the unique illustrations that characterized the brand.

IDEA

As big ideas go this was a bit of a clean up job. Aiming to create a clear and distinctive product range and packaging architecture that differentiated products and allowed the illustrations to shine. The focus was on removing unnecessary clutter from both the front and back of the packaging, providing a clean canvas for the brand's distinctive illustrations.

EXECUTION

To bring the idea to life, we developed a rigorous system for the logo, graphics, typography, icons, and colour schemes for the different ranges. This system ensured consistency across the entire range, providing a framework that allowed the illustrations to maintain their vibrancy. The design team removed unnecessary elements, allowing the illustrations to be as wild as Joanna (the founder) wished, while creating a visually cohesive and easily navigable packaging structure.

OUTCOME

The outcome was a comprehensive set of pack designs for both large and small packs across the six ranges. Pack guidelines were created, and our team collaborated with the in-house design team to implement the designs across over 60 SKUs. The success of the redesign was evident as Child's Farm was subsequently sold for £36M to PZ Cussons. The project not only achieved its goal of providing clarity and consistency but also contributed to the brand's significant market value. The outcome speaks volumes about the impact of the redesign on the brand's success.

From Bush to Bottle

A great opportunity to help an iconic brand explain how they redesigned their bottle and sleeve to become more sustainable.

CHALLENGE

Obviously the plastic industry has a lot to answer for and this is particularly true in the soft drinks category. Every roadside and station platform in the UK is testament to the fact that if you don’t help people recycle their plastic bottles they might just chuck them wherever they finish them. But it’s not just about the bottle – the sleeve is another issue, because even when it gets recycled the machinery in the plant can’t always recognise the bottle as recyclable and it goes into landfill.

INSIGHTS

Because this was a B2B project we decided to let the business talk about the change themselves – from the factory floor to the Chief Operating Officer, while showing the whole journey in one seamless film.

IDEA

Pretty simple. How we’re helping turn more bottles back into bottles.

EXECUTION

Two days shooting in the plant and head office, some nifty animation, and a load of voxpops with staff, sustainability experts and the public.

OUTCOME

A concise film that explains the how and why of this massive change for Ribena. The industry was happy, the film got lots of positive press coverage, and further PR evidence of Ribena’s ongoing commitment to its sustainability-driven purpose.

Organico approached us to modernise and re-vitalise the brand that had seen a steep decline in sales and orders – in store and on-line - especially with younger audiences.

CHALLENGE

How to reposition Organico from an ‘organic staple food company’ to a ‘passionate enabler of fine food’ with provenance at its heart (that happens to be organic).

INSIGHT

We noticed that the language of the organic food category can come across as too serious and a bit holier-than-thou. It’s about sounding grown-up and earnest. But the benefit of organic craft food is actually something else. It’s about how the food tastes It’s about feeling good about how it got to your cupboard. It’s about the smells and sights and sounds of cooking. It’s about the emotions that are piqued and satisfied when you share a plate with friends or family. It’s about un-adulterated, unprocessed soulful food. It’s about happiness.

IDEA

The organising idea we landed on springs from the insight that food is about joyous celebration – ‘The Joy of Real Food’.

This idea is about recognising that the real benefit of Real Foods isn’t simply the functional benefit of what’s in the tins and bottles and jars but the emotional benefit of eating them. It allowed us to step away from the well-worn territory of holier than thou pronouncements and instead to celebrate the Joy of Real Food. The provenance and sourcing and ingredients and organic factors became RTBs that ladder up to the main benefit of happiness and it made the idea as much about the consumer as it is about the brand.

EXECUTION

The team took the concept ‘The Joy of Real Food’ and brought it to life through quirky and expressive copy, illustrative doodles and type, simple modern fresh white, yellow and black colour palette, and a design that feels passionate and spontaneous.

OUTCOME

The challenge was to make Real Foods stand out and let consumers know what’s in it for them. This upbeat and positive idea led to designs being rolled out across 60 products. The whole range will be launched in early 2024. Watch this space.

The Child's Farm toiletries brand initially created Farmologie as a go-to product for mothers who had experienced the benefits of Child’s Farm sensitive skin products on their children and wanted some for themselves! Child's Farm soon realised there was a wider, younger audience that wanted the same quality products for their sensitive skin.

CHALLENGE

To re-create the Farmologie brand so that it speaks to the Gen Z crowd.

INSIGHT

The insight, ‘sensitive skin doesn’t have to be boring’

IDEA

With ‘sensitive skin doesn’t have to be boring’ and Child’s Farm philosophy, ‘be confident in your skin’ led us to create a simple, bold brand and pack design that stands out on the shelf with its vibrant neon colours, brought to life through creative brand imagery.

EXECUTION

A successfully re-positioned brand identity with stand-out packaging design. Project completed to deadline and within budget, and snapped up by Superdrug.

OUTCOME

The outcome was a comprehensive set of pack designs, Pack guidelines. The success of the redesign was evident as Child's Farm was subsequently sold for £36M to PZ Cussons.

BRRRILLIANT

This was a chance to show off our FMCG expertise on a massive brand, from upstream strategy and idea development to finished commercials, and also to lean into our purpose of helping large corporations become the engines of change.

CHALLENGE

When we got this brief Ariel’s market share looked to be in terminal decline – attributed to a lack of consistency in how the brand was represented, the rise of own-label, and the strength of Persil.

The Excel Gel product itself was unique. It looked odd, came in a strange pack, and had an amazing claim - it washed as well at 15 degrees as anything else did at 40. An important product benefit when trying to address global warming.

Despite this, teams in various markets had failed to crack it through 18 months of trying.

INSIGHT

I went back to basics, with a twist - focussing on Ariel’s core equity of superior cleaning while dramatising the benefits of cold water washing.

The twist was to demonstrate the difference by using a man to do the laundry. How different was that (shock, horror)?

IDEA

The Organising Idea here was rooted in ‘Confounding Expectations’. You expect something to be the case, but with Excel Gel it isn’t. We identified a range of expectations about laundry and then set out to turn them on their head.

EXECUTION

A major part of Confounding Expectations was using a man to do the laundry, and getting amazing results in cold water

A clean uncluttered set, strong FVO from Sam Bond and the killer line, ‘Brrrrrrilliant’, did the rest.

OUTCOME

The campaign was a massive success – 48 sheet posters teased and raised awareness of the launch (despite the usual media company doom and gloom over using outdoor) and all the TV commercials qualified above normal.

Excel Gel flew off the shelves. The work was tested and ran across Europe, picking up numerous industry brand-building prizes including Best Communication at the P&G awards.

What’s more important, it turned the share decline round, put Ariel ahead of Persil in the UK for the first time, and proved to be the most successful new product launch in a decade.

And it’s still on pack. So it must still be working.

LOVE YOURSELF

Our journey with Biomel began in 2018 when the brand was set to launch its plant-based gut health drink in Whole Foods in Kensington, London. Biomel, a startup dedicated to creating a better-for-you, dairy-free gut health drink with delicious flavors, approached us to develop its brand name, identity, and packaging. As the brand's first point of contact, we embarked on thorough research and strategic positioning to lay the foundation for Biomel's entry into the market.

CHALLENGE

In 2018, our challenge was to establish Biomel as a contemporary go-to brand for gut health drinks, emphasising its unique position as plant-based, scientifically proven, and, above all, delicious. At the time, most probiotics lacked great taste, with the majority being dairy-based. Biomel's revolutionary product offered a solution – a plant-based, better-for-you drink that was also delicious.

INSIGHT

Recognising the pivotal role of the gut in overall health, our insight focused on highlighting the various benefits of maintaining gut health. Beyond aiding digestion, a healthy gut contributes to building immunity, improving skin health, enhancing mood, and addressing sleep issues. The message was clear: prioritise your gut health as the cornerstone of your daily routine.

IDEA

The core idea was centred around the concept of "Love yourself" (who doesn't love chocolate?) while simultaneously showing love to your gut through Biomel's special probiotics. The idea came alive in a heart-shaped "gut" icon, reading "Love Your Gut." This icon became synonymous with gut health and served as a visual representation of Biomel's commitment to promoting a healthy gut.

EXECUTION

We collaborated closely with the founder and the Biomel team, continually refining and tweaking various aspects of the brand, packaging, new product such as Powders and Bars, other NPD products, exhibitions, posters/ads, web/social banners, and other creative outputs.

OUTCOME

Biomel has become the UK’s fastest growing Active Health Drink (The Grocer)and is now available in over 3,000 stores, including major retailers such as Waitrose, Selfridges, Boots, M&S, Sainsbury's, WholeFoods, Planet Organic, Booths, Dunnes, and Holland & Barrett.

We’ve been integral to Biomel's journey working closely with the team at every turn. Biomel currently owns 85% of the plant-based prebiotic drinks market and has recently secured a £5 million investment fund, positioning it for further success in the future. The journey continues, and Biomel remains a brand to watch in the active health drink space.

POWER TO THE PEOPLE

As one of our founding clients OneZero exemplifies what Ethel is all about – in this case trying to find a simple idea that helps move the needle on home energy retro-fit in an innovative and engaging way.

CHALLENGE

The majority of homes across the UK, EU and the US are leaky, unhealthy and inefficient. How do we start to persuade these home owners to do something about this given the fact that even government funding isn’t making a difference? And how do we get them over their concerns about complexity, upfront costs and a fear of making the wrong decision?

INSIGHT

Our insight here was that most people would like to do something about their energy bills as well as helping the planet – and at the same time stick it to the big energy companies.

IDEA

The organising idea needed to be challenging and provocative, but also needed to reassure that OneZero understood their pain points and had the expertise to deliver. We landed on a strong and memorable line – Power To The People. This thought was a simple to understand rallying cry, rooted in a transfer of power from corporations to people, the line was already living in the vernacular and obviously had a very specific application for a company operating in the power industry.

EXECUTION

Partnering with the One Zero design team & Fiona Hamilton at Rococco we developed a logo and typestyle that leant into graffiti thus alluding to a revolutionary viewpoint. Then, sticking with the need to deliver messaging simply and effectively, we developed a classic side-by-side executional style – neatly counterpointing the old reality with the brighter more optimistic future offered by the OneZero proposition. Each ad could therefore highlight a specific pain point, benefit, or issue and dramatise it in a clear way – whether focussed on energy bills, or pollution, or family. The ads were also able to have a local twist which was important as we launched in Sussex.

OUTCOME

A very successful launch event was followed by a wave of interest and bookings for retrofitting. And we heard quite a few people are displaying the ads on their mantlepiece. Seed funding and Phase 2 is now under way.