Above+Beyond & Blinkink: Fantasise about cheese? You will now

This ad for Pilgrims Choice cheese is riveting. Yes, really. It’s partly because of a wonderful idea by agency, Above+Beyond, and partly due to the absolutely awesome blend of live performance, puppetry and CGI by Blinkink.

It’s also a very clever way to make people feel their cheese passion.

The campaign film is the dream of a cheese-lover. It’s a pretty wild dream. (The strategy was inspired by the old wives’ tale that eating cheese at night cheese causes vivid, unusual dreams.) The dreamer’s arms grow incredibly long until they are able to reach through the sky to a restaurant nestling in the clouds, which they then grab and put on their head, like a very strange helmet. Inside is a tiny pub, where a pirate whose beard is made from socks sits before a very cheesy feast – including a cheeseburger and cheese on toast that are both able to walk around. The woman’s arms free the cheesy food, and that food is very grateful.

https://youtu.be/BVn0eQsvokA

The social and out-of-home part of the campaign launched on May 21, followed by TV at the beginning of June. The full campaign also includes print and in-store promotions. In social, people will be invited to submit their own cheese-fuelled dreams for a chance to see them turned into animated .gifs.

Michael Harper, marketing director at Pilgrims Choice parent, Ornua UK, commented, “This new campaign brings fun and excitement to the cheddar category, in a way that only a challenger brand can. By making the bold link between cheddar and dreams, Pilgrims Choice will earn a significant share of voice, not just in the category, but in culture. This is exactly the audience-led approach we were hoping for from Above+Beyond.”

David Billing, chief creative officer at Above+Beyond, added, “For Pilgrims Choice, we have come up with a truly audience-in campaign, creating a cultural connection between the brand and cheese lovers. And it’s been an incredible thing, putting these weird stories generated by real people’s subconsciouses, not the pens of creatives, on screen. The passion and ingenuity put in by the team who have made the dream into a reality (of sorts!) really shines through in this stand-out film, which we can’t wait for audiences to see.”