There have been some big ideas and huge production promos by broadcasters in the last twelve months. This campaign, created by 4creative and directed by Blink Productions director, Dougal Wilson, for the return of Channel 4’s Educating Yorkshire is still epic and inventive by comparison.
In the cast are 400 school children from Thornhill Community Academy, the school featured in the series, Lawnswood School, and Dixons Unity Academy. They star in the story of the making of the campaign and their role extended far beyond their on-screen appearance in that film. The campaign was developed through a series of 12 workshops with the children. Pupils took on roles from script writers and actors to photographers, voiceover artists, producers and even media buyers, working alongside 4creative, Blink Productions, OMD UK, and Channel 4’s 4Studio and 4Schools programmes.
In the hero film, nearly three-and-a-half minutes long, the children ponder ideas for the trailer – a science experiment; a child launched from a cannon; a live performances by school band, Unjust Detention, bike stunts in the playground, a keep ball challenge…and an artwork finale.
Between Channel 4 shows, the typical on-air announcements that introduce what’s coming up on Channel 4, such as The Great British Bake Off, Come Dine with Me, and Countdown, will be replaced with tongue-in-cheek voiceovers from Lawnswood students. One student, for example, compares the culinary messiness of Bake Off to the ‘messy drama’ of Educating Yorkshire.
And on Channel 4’s Instagram, TikTok, and Threads accounts, Dixons Unity pupils will be given free rein to post content they’ve created about the show.
The children’s work will also be seen in OOH posters live from August 25 and radio ads recorded by students will feature on Hits Radio, KISS, and Spotify.
The soundtrack for School’s Back was also composed by the schoolchildren and recorded at Nave Studios in Pudsey, with the support of music agency, Leland.
Putting pupils at the centre of the campaign reminds viewers that young people in the UK deserve to be celebrated. 4creative felt this was important at a time when the challenges that young people face are increasingly documented in public life. The show, Educating Yorkshire, reveals the highs and emotional lows of 21st century education, launching first in 2013 and returning later this month to show how life for young people in the UK has changed over a decade later.
David Wigglesworth, executive creative director, 4creative, commented, “The media narrative surrounding today’s kids is overwhelmingly bleak, so we felt an urgency to show the country they’re actually brilliant, funny and wildly creative. What better way to prove it than by handing them the keys to the campaign, and a metric tonne of media to play with? The end result is everything we hoped for, full of joy, honesty and a bit of beautiful chaos.”
Miketta Lane, director, 4creative, added, “Educating Yorkshire is a commission that’s incredibly close to our hearts at Channel 4, and we’re proud to bring it back with a campaign as meaningful as the series itself. By placing real students at the heart of the process, we’re not only championing unheard voices, we’re empowering them. This is representation, collaboration, and a celebration of the next generation of talent. This is public service broadcasting at its best.”
Nic Moran, head of marketing, Channel 4, stated, “With Educating Yorkshire returning to Channel 4, we saw a powerful opportunity to spotlight the heart of the series – the kids. From starring in the trailer and OOH to voicing audio ads for Spotify and testing Global radio hosts in a series of fun challenges. We owe a big thank you to the kids of Yorkshire who took part.”
Credits:
Client: Channel 4
PR: Imogen Birkett & Jeeshan Choudhury
Planner: Thomas Schofield
Marketing Executive: Stacy Parris
Marketing Manager: Anna Kerr
Head of Marketing: Nic Moran
Marketing Director: Amber Kirby
Chief Marketing Officer: Katie Jackson
Creative Agency: 4creative
Executive Creative Director: David Wigglesworth
Creative Directors: Andy Vasey & Dan Warner
Creatives: Laura Whitworth, Amelia Rudzinski, Reuben Dangoor & Stuart Gittings
Head of Creative Ops: John Trevor
Director of Production: Miketta Lane
Project Manager: Claire Walters
Head of Production: Charlie Bettice
Production Assistant: Cera O’Rourke
Production Manager:Hannah Jones
Producers: Faye Gillespie & Paul Gleeson
Executive Producer: Louise Oliver
Designer: Dan Davies
Head of Design: Rob Boon
Campaign Partner: 4schools
Talent Managers: Michael Longhi & Emily Doherty
Coordinator: Jenny Savory
Campaign Partner: 4studio
Social Manager: Emma Lyskava
Strategists: Gugundeep Kaur & Aaron Gillies
Media: OMD
Production Company: Blink Productions
Director: Dougal Wilson
Executive Producers: Corin Taylor, Patrick Craig & Paul Weston
Director’s Assistant: Emma Parkinson
Production Assistant: Lettice Yardley
Production Managers: Lottie O’Connell & Antonia Vickers
Production Partners: Twofour & 4voice
Post-Production & VFX: Untold Studios & Blink Productions
Grade: Company 3 London
Post Production Partners: Platform Post & Curious Productions
Music: Leland
Composer: Dougal Wilson
Music Supervisors: Ed Bailie & Abi Leland
Sound: Factory, Sticks and Glass, Lucky Cat Post Production & Picture Shop Post Production
