Camden Town Brewery sold its first beer in July 2010 and now employs 100 people, opened its second brewery in Enfield, North London in August, and is sold in around 600 London pubs, bars and restaurants, in Bristol, Manchester, Liverpool, Leeds, Edinburgh, Sweden, Paris, New York and throughout Australia.

The Garage Soho, the start-up incubator that Sir John Hegarty founded in November 2014, has created the brewery’s first TV campaign, Characters. As you might expect, it’s unlike beer campaigns.

Hegarty commented, “So much beer advertising is boring and clichéd.  We wanted scripts which reflected Camden’s individuality, diversity and irreverence. Challenging and entertaining.”

The campaign, which focuses on the brewery’s signature lager, Camden Hells, launched on September 4, not with a hero film, but with five second teasers. The 30 second and 10 second ads will follow. The teasers don’t feature the beer. It’s just a prop. Instead, they provide glimpses of Londoners who reflect the unique “unconventional, anything goes spirit of Camden” – an actor, a drag artist, a visually impaired woman, and a blues guitarist. In the longer ads, these characters deliver short monologues, sharing their refreshing honest musings on life, which range from funny and insightful, to thought-provoking.

Production company, Royle Productions, and director, Sam Washington, took on the mammoth task of finding the campaign’s characters. They also partnered with the RNIB (Royle National Institute of Blind People) so that they could share Anna Canning’s story in an authentic light.

“We were looking for distinctive characters who could bring their own unique energy to the scripts,” explained Sarah Marcon, head of production at Royle Productions.

“Our casting process was lengthy and we interviewed many interesting people before whittling it down to the four strongest personalities. The sheer diversity we encountered reflects Camden’s rich identity and soul. Wanting the characters to shine, we opted for a stripped-back set up and minimal styling.”

Credits

Agency: The Garage Soho

Founder & Creative Director: Sir John Hegarty

Writers: Sir John Hegarty & Neil Patterson

Creative Project Manager: Moira Rizopoulos

Production company: Royle Productions

Director:  Sam Washington

Executive Producer: Sarah Marcon

Producer: Selena Cunningham

Production Manager:  Agnes Szyperek

DoP:  Paul O’Callaghan

1^st Assistant Director:  Will Jasper

Post Production: Raised By Wolves

Flame Artist: Jon Hollis

Grade: Vic Parker

Graphics: Studio Juice

Sound Design: Mark Hills @ Factory

Editing: Alexandra Wood @ Flock Collective

Producer:  Arlinda Craven