TV advertising works wonders for a very unusual law firm in Mother London’s campaign for Thinkbox, the marketing body for TV advertising.
Happily Ever After, directed by Jonny & Will from Blinkink, tells the story of Michael Goose, a passionate and devoted lawyer, and his struggle to build his business, which deals exclusively with nursery rhyme-related injustices.
Despite his best efforts, the first few years were tough. But after securing a lucrative pay out for Jack and Jill (citing a public right of way and water-fetching bylaw), Michael re-invested the profits in a TV advert for his firm. That’s when everything changed. Overnight, Happily Ever After Law Associates became an institution. It wasn’t long before every blind mouse, eloping spoon, and popped weasel was beating down Michael’s door for legal representation. Cases featured in the new ad include Incy Wincy’s sudden and soaking eviction notice and Mrs Dumpty’s lawsuit for gross eggligence.
The commercial dramatises a common story for many businesses – to go to the next stage of growth and scale up, they turn to TV advertising to drive new, widespread demand. With its ability to reach vast audiences, grab attention, engender trust, forge emotional connections, and make brands famous, TV helps brands jump over the moon.
Andrew MacGillivray, Thinkbox’s Marketing Director, stated, “With businesses operating in increasingly tough conditions, it’s a good time to remind them that nothing works harder than TV advertising. But we also want to do that in an engaging, entertaining way – to be a welcome guest in living rooms across the country.
“There’s some outstanding TV advertising being made at the moment, and we hope that our new campaign – courtesy of the dream team of Mother London and Blinkink – will also help showcase why it pays to invest in creativity and craft.”
James Lucking, creative at Mother, added, “The hardest part of working on this campaign was being brought face-to-face with the startling amount of injustice, malpractice and negligence which is so abundant in the world of nursery rhymes. We simply knew we had to do something about it. Fortunately, Thinkbox believe in ideas and care about the craft to tell this story. And Blinkink are the perfect partners to deliver on something this bonkers.”
Jonny & Will from Blinkink, commented, “A nursery rhyme lawyer is a funny concept which immediately appealed to us. Bringing nursery rhyme characters to life was always going to be fun, but creating a likeable lawyer at the heart of it was the challenge. The documentary feel was inspired by classic Hollywood films about lawsuits and business guys, giving it an interesting edge. Visually playing it straight and cinematic, with subtle puppet performances helped ground the characters in the real world.”
Thinkbox’s TV ads have been doing their best to entertain and catch the eye of marketing directors everywhere since 2009. This is Mother London’s second TV campaign for Thinkbox since it was appointed as its creative agency in 2019, and follows Tooth Fairy. Media planning and buying is by MediaCom.
From December 26, Happily Ever After will be screened across a variety of broadcast and on-demand TV channels represented by Thinkbox’s shareholders and its partner channels. Thinkbox’s shareholders are Channel 4, ITV, Sky Media, and UKTV who together represent over 99% of commercial TV advertising revenue through their owned and partner TV channels.
Credits
Creative & Strategy: Mother London
Production Company: Blinkink
Directors: Jonny & Will
Executive Producer: Josef Byrne
Producer: Cindy Burnay
DOP: Will Bex
Cast: Matt Green, Ellie Nunn
Puppeteers: Jonny Sabbagh, Will Harper, Tim Cherry-Jones
Art Department: Joe Withers
Editor: Nick Armstrong @ TenThree
Edit Producer: Rachel Goodger
Colourist: Alex Gregory @No.8
VFX Supervisor: Jim Allen @ No.8
Post-production Senior Producer: Glen Percival @ No.8
Illustration: Helen Castelow
After Effects Animator: David Khosravani
Sound Engineer & Sound Design: Sam Robson @ No.8
Music Supervision: Will Harper & Tristan Williams
Media Agency: MediaCom
Business Director: Tim Williams
Account Director: Stephanie Smith
AV Senior Associate Directors: Becci Wilson & Nick Docker
AV Account Director: Oliva Dack
AV Account Manager Kathryn Reid
