Uncommon and home improvement retailer, B&Q, have delivered a reassuring message, one that the UK needs to hear as it emerges from a terrible winter. Ostensibly, the poem that defies the harshness of winter is an ad for plants at B&Q, but the deeper story is obvious. The UK is beginning to gain control over Covid. The film applauds the UK’s resilience and welcomes its resurgence. It underlines the deeper meaning of plants, far deeper than beauty — they represent a symbol of hope, growth and joy.
The new campaign, We Will Grow Again, follows the partners’ successful brand campaign, Build a Life, which encouraged the UK at the depth of the pandemic with the belief that anyone can change their home to make life better.
Chris Graham, marketing director, B&Q, commented, “We’re pleased to be launching this new campaign as the next iteration of our Build a Life platform, which celebrates the role that improving a home can play in making life a little better. As we mark a year in lockdown, our new research also shows how consumers think of outside spaces as a top priority. Of the 86% of British homeowners who embraced DIY as a way to adapt to challenges of the pandemic, more than a quarter (27%) focussed on the garden as a way to spend more time with friends and family outside.”
Nils Leonard, co-founder, Uncommon Creative Studio, added, “The arrival of spring has never meant more to all of us than it has now. We’re not just coming out of another winter — there’s a whole load of stuff we’re leaving behind this time. The sentiment that we will grow again is a lesson nature teaches us every year: the good stuff will always come through if you plant it.”
The film was directed by Sacred Egg, through Riff Raff, whose style combines animation and photographic shots to showcase intimate moments in our homes and gardens. The film also nods to the nostalgic feel created in Build a Life, with the use of home videos as well as the return of Game of Thrones actor, Rory McCann, providing the voiceover. The work is set to the moving track, Valkara from electronic duo, Maribou State.
The film went to airs on Friday March 26 on TV and online. An OOH and print campaign is set to break in the coming weeks across the UK.
Uncommon’s first work for B&Q was this:
Credits:
Client: B&Q
Creative Studio: Uncommon
Production Company: Riff Raff
Director: The Sacred Egg
Voiceover: Rory McCann
Editor: Sam Bould @ Final Cut
Producer: Cathy Hood
DOP: Alex Barber
Post-production & Grade: MPC
Colourist: Matthieu Toullet
Producer: Ryan Hancocks
VFX 2D Lead: Tom Harding
CG Lead: Fabian Frank
2D Artists: David Filipe, Julia Caram & Ed Taylor
3D Artists: Radu Ciubotariu, Alessandro Granella, Maximillian Mallmann & David Bryan
Music Supervision: Pitch and Sync
Music: Valkara by Maribou State
Audio Post-production: Soundtree
Media Agency: Wavemaker