This piece titled “Television” from agency Uncommon embodies ITV’s recent future-facing positioning “More than TV”–with the aim to drive reappraisal and provoke viewers to look again at ITV through the prevailing stories it tells which continue to play a role in shaping British culture today.
“Television” emphasizes how ITV has always been at the heart of culture, through creating programs which truly move people, grip the nation and start conversation.
Coronation Street actress Julie Hesmondhalgh, who played Hayley Cropper in the soap, said when interviewed by Uncommon: “Having somebody in your home three, four, five times a week, who you get to know, love, care about and root for changes everything. That’s how you get rid of prejudice.”
ITV continues to raise important societal issues, helping to make visible and normalize even sensitive subjects which, at the time, have challenged social conventions. “Television: features pivotal moments from ITV which signify ITV as a transformative force influencing culture. We are narrated through the decades by an emotive and relevant soliloquy from legendary ITV newsreader and journalist, Sir Trevor McDonald OBE. The creative process involved an interview with Sir Trevor, to document and incorporate his expertise in the film and script. Sir Trevor has been knighted for his role in journalism and has been at the center of television for over 50 years, playing a key role in its evolution. There is no one better to take the UK on the journey of ITV over the years.
Nils Leonard, co-founder of Uncommon, added: “This work moves people to look again, at the stories they think they know, and at the network they have made their mind up about. ITV reaches tens of millions of people every week, and the stories it creates take on some of the UK’s biggest issues. While the television ITV makes entertains millions, it also asks questions of us all, brings modern tensions to bear and pushes culture forwards. ITV marries entertainment, scale and purpose week in, week out: this is creativity in its most powerful form.”
The film uses a combination of beautifully observed audiences and ITV and ITN footage to show meaningful moments which have spoken to viewers, over time. Showing key stories from the 1960s to 2019, these include; Corrie’s Hayley Cropper as the first transgender character in a British soap in 1998, World in Action documentary footage from gay pride demonstrations in the 1970s, Lost Voice Guy becoming the first comedian to win Britain’s Got Talent in 2018 and ITV weatherman Alex Beresford’s praised interruption during a live debate on knife crime during Good Morning Britain in January 2019. NB:
“Television” was directed by Billy Boyd Cape through Academy Films, who recently won Best New Director at The British Arrows 2019.
The music was composed specifically for this film by Soundtree who carefully constructed the sound design. Bringing together a soundscape which incorporates all the elements, from the different pieces of footage, Sir Trevor’s dialogue to the tailored track itself.
