Agency adam&eveDDB in London has brought the Famous Five–a group of adventurous young children and their dog Timmy from the series of novels by English author Enid Blyton–back to screens for their first new adventure on Great Western Railway (GWR) since 2020.
Titled “Five Get There First,” this 60-second TV spot for British train operating company GWR begins with Uncle Quentin and Aunt Fanny waving goodbye to the children as they all set off for a day at the beach–Quentin and Fanny in their car and the Famous Five on the train. “Last one there is a rotten egg,” calls out Uncle Quentin as he speeds away.
Uncle Quentin and Aunt Fanny have a terrible journey with traffic delays, followed by farm vehicles spilling mud onto the windshield. With their view obscured, they accidentally crash through a barn–picking up a chicken–before careering their way through the streets of a quiet seaside town.
Meanwhile, the children have a far more peaceful journey, complete with lovely views, conversation and delicious cups of tea. By the time Quentin and Fanny arrive, their car is close to breaking down, and the children have already been there for some time. Finally reunited, Uncle Quentin and Aunt Fanny resolve to start traveling by train as well.
Merman and Not to Scale produced “Five Get There First,” with Guy Manwaring serving as director and Headless as animation director. VFX/post house was Glassworks Barcelona.
The ad brings to life the four key benefits of train travel–speed, sustainability, comfort and socializing–in an amusing way and celebrates the experience of train travel and the ways it is better than traveling by car. It aims to reignite the passion and excitement of rail travel around GWR’s beautiful destinations in the South West and South Wales in the post-COVID world.
This is the fourth GWR campaign to feature the Famous Five.
Client Great Western Railway Agency adam&eveDDB, London Ben Tollet, group executive creative director; Tammy Einav, CEO; Martin Beverley, chief strategy officer; Matt Woolner & Steve Wioland, Frances Leach, James Gilham & Graham Cappi, creative directors; Matt Osborne, sr. content creative; Sally Pritchett, joint head of integrated production; Richard Bailey, Kreepa Naisbitt, Charlotte Ellison, Lucy Trower, Hazel Corstens, Adaeze Ndakoji, producers. Production Company Merman / Not to Scale Guy Manwaring, director; Spencer Dodd, exec producer; Headless, animation director; Maud Becker, producer; Kristian Antonelli, character designer; Adrian Garcia, Ananda Arán, Athena Productions, Miki Montlló, concept art/matte painting. VFX/Postproduction Glassworks Barcelona Javier Verdugo, VFX supervisor; Marco Rossi, Abner Marin, Kornel Makarowicz, Jose Manuel Linares, Kiko Navarro, Jonas Nunes, Oriol Domenech, Pol Soler, Daniel Larrosa, Taio Prince, Ignacio Santalla, Juan Munoz, Andrea Duque, Eduardo Olide, Marta Garcia Pardo, Eduardo Lasierra, David Rubio, Minimo VFX, 3D artists; Carlos de la Sotilla, 2D compositing supervisor; Roberto Garcia, Marti Pujol, Becanti Wijnberg, compositing; Pablo Navarro, 2D animation supervisor; Javier Vaquero, Ezequiel Cruz, Toni Sala, Ellis Chen, Joel Morales, Margarita Rojas, 2D animation; Dani Granado, colorist; Anna Gispert, Celeste Lozano, producers; Albert Garcia, Alex Blasco, online; Juan Listello, editing; Washington Neira, technical support. (Toolbox: Maya, Nuke, Flame, Cinema 4d, Substance Painter, Photoshop, Zbrush, Arnold Render, Davinci Resolve, TV paint) Audio Post 750mph Mark Hellaby, audio engineer; Kirsten Troy, audio producer. Music Licensing Company Theodore Music Music track: “Milo’s Adventure”; Michael Patti, composer. Music Publishing Audiomachine Media 7Stars
NHS England, M&C Saatchi UK, Director Tom Tagholm Team On PSA Highlighting The Overlooked Signs Of A Stroke
National Health Service (NHS) England has unveiled a multichannel campaign, “Act FAST,” to raise awareness of the individual signs of a stroke and get people to call 999 as soon as they suspect they may be experiencing any one symptom. The push, which is part of the ongoing “Help Us, Help You” campaign, was developed in partnership with M&C Saatchi UK.
The campaign depicts everyday situations where everything might seem relatively normal, but where there’s the sign of someone experiencing a stroke.
A key component of the campaign is this :30--directed by Tom Tagholm of Various Films--which sets up the idea that initially, a stroke might not seem like much, highlighting key symptoms: from struggling to use a paint roller, to not being able to smile when watching TV, to slurring your speech when reading a story to your grandchild. The PSA emphasizes that time is critical, ending with the line: “Face or arm or speech, at the first sign, it’s time to call 999.”
Jo Bacon, Group CEO, M&C Saatchi UK, said, “We want to ensure people take action on the first symptom, rather than waiting for more conclusive signs. To help them understand that even when everything seems normal, something serious might be happening.”
Matt Lee, executive creative director, M&C Saatchi UK, commented: “This is important work. We wanted to explore that precise moment when your world shifts, quietly yet powerfully, off its axis during a stroke. We highlight how a tiny external moment can actually be seismic—an extraordinary gear change, framed in a really ordinary way.”
Director Tagholm shared, “My Dad suffered a stroke a few years ago and was saved from the worst by acting quickly, and by the work of the NHS. So there’s... Read More