‘We picked ourselves up and we started again. Knowing that the sun is always shining somewhere.’
On The Beach is a holiday booking agency. It could not have had a spectacular 2020. It is, however, sharing a message of hope to all (and, no question, trying to put itself in people’s wanderlust dreams while in iso – again).
The beach holiday experts could have chosen a traditional Christmas ad that pushed sales but instead, On The Beach chose to something more relatable, celebrating the redemptive and restorative power the beach can hold for all. The work emphasises the truth that at some point, someday, everyone will all be able to go on their dream holiday again.
The two-minute campaign film stars rock icon Iggy Pop, whose distinctive gravelly tones have previously featured in work for the brand in a campaign last year in which Iggy told stories of the worst weeks of people’s lives. This time, he calls out one of the worst years we’ve all collectively felt but also offers hope that someday everyone will be able to go on their dream holidays again.
He sums up the nation’s feelings perfectly, “We got angry, we got sad, we cried. But we picked ourselves up and we started again, knowing that the sun is always shining somewhere.”
The work is set to the orchestral interlude from Iggy’s own track, Sunday, taken from his latest album, Post Pop Depression. The work was directed by Uncommon’s executive creative director, Sam Walker through Pulse Films.
Steve Seddon, brand marketing director at On the Beach, stated “Our previous Everything’s Better On the Beach campaign saw the biggest ever growth in brand awareness for On the Beach. We wanted to build on that with this ad and stay true to the brand, while being reflective and mindful of the year we’ve had — balanced with optimism for the year ahead. Capturing the thoughts, feelings and emotions of our customers was also really important to us; the scripting in the film delivers that brilliantly.”
Nils Leonard, co-founder at Uncommon, added, “This will pass. Sometimes it takes the perspective of someone who has seen a lot in their life to make you realise that. Iggy growls the first words, your shoulders drop, and hope returns. Working closely with the excellent Steve and crew at On The Beach to create this gravel voiced argument for patience and optimism was a privilege.
“Never mind the worst week of someone’s life, what about a year in the life of the UK? We wanted to say it like it is, so we needed a voice that has seen it all. Two minutes in Iggy’s company can make anyone feel better, hopefully everyone.”
The work goes live on December 25 across TV, online and social, playing out until the end of February 2021. It will launch with the 120-second commercial’s debut during Britain’s Got Talent on ITV on Christmas Day and will also feature a media partnership with Amazon Prime over the next few months. All media buying and planning was curated by 7Stars.
Credits:
Agency: Uncommon Creative Studio
Client: On The Beach
Production company: Pulse Films
Director: Sam Walker
Producer: Luke Goodrum
Executive Producer: Lucy Kelly
DOP: Alex Barber
Edit House: The Quarry
Editor: Paul Watts
Post-production & Grade: Black Kite Studios
Post-production Producer: Hannah Ruddlestone
Colourist: Richard Fearon
VFX: Marcus Moffatt
Audio post-production: Wave
Sound engineer: Jack Sedgwick
Audio producer: Matt Wyatt
Media: 7Stars
