“You don’t buy a life, you make it. What a day it was the day you found out you can do it.” Uncommon Creative Studio’s first campaign for British D-I-Y and home improvement retailer, B&Q, works hard to trigger D-I-Y emotion.

The hero film, a 60-second TVC directed by Chris Hewitt through Knucklehead, is filled with real-life moments from genuine home videos made by sixty-nine families in sixty-nine different cities across the UK. The campaign taps into the “house is home” renaissance and associated renovation and repair surges that lockdown has fostered.

The idea grew from a recent survey by B&Q which showed how lockdown had shifted attitudes, with 57% of respondents agreeing that their homes are more significant than ever in improving their lives.

The emotive power of the spot is amplified by the voice of Game of Thrones actor, Rory McCann, and the music, Manhatta by The Cinematic Orchestra. The tagline, You Can Do it, is an edit of the brand’s You can do it if you B&Q it endline, which itself was lifted from a 1980s jingle in the brand’s 2018 campaign.

Chris Graham, marketing director at B&Q, said: “At B&Q we’ve been making, growing and selling the tools, materials and know-how to improve homes for over 50 years. To us, these things are more than bricks and mortar. We believe that anyone can improve their home to make life better. It’s precisely this insight that makes us so proud and privileged to be a business where we can help people shape the homes that mean so much to them. Our 27,000 colleagues, myself included, love hearing about the projects our customers take on – it’s what inspires and motivates us.”