Prepared food brand, Charlie Bigham’s, is making a long-awaited return to UK TV screens and VCCP London has made sure that people notice. The TVC is an origin story, but an origin story like no other. It’s animated. Meet Charlie Bigham tells the story of the real man behind the brand and his hands-on involvement in creating its dishes.
It opens with the surprising admission, “You couldn’t make him up, even though most people think that we have,” and goes on to tell the story of Charlie’s travels 25 years ago which inspired him to create prepared meals with high quality ingredients, and how this grew into the much-loved brand. The campaign message is underlined by the tagline, Handmade in Charlie Bigham’s kitchen, cooked in yours. The campaign aims to emphasise the brand’s commitment to producing freshly-prepared quality meals.
The hero film’s illustrations are by Emily Sutton, who designs Charlie Bigham’s packaging for Big Fish. It was directed by Isabel Garrett, of Blinkink, and shows Charlie picking ingredients in the market and designing new recipes in the tasting kitchen. Voiceover for the TVC is provided by Charlie himself and by Richard Osman, who has previously voiced Charlie Bigham’s audio campaigns.
The campaign challenges preconceptions of ready meals (the category which Charlie Bigham’s leads) as mass produced products which compromise on quality. Charlie Bigham’s rejects the term for its products as each of their dishes is handmade, freshly prepared and never frozen.
The full campaign covers TV, radio, D/OOH, organic and paid social on YouTube, Pinterest and Meta, and PR. Electric Glue is managing for media planning and buying; MK21, social channels; and Sunny Side Up, PR.
Patrick Cairns, CEO of Charlie Bigham’s, stated, “This is a significant moment in our mission to increase brand awareness amongst consumers who are looking for a freshly prepared alternative to home cooking. Our recent advertising has demonstrated that our audience identifies with Charlie’s passion for food, which has delivered a four-fold increase in first brand choice. This new campaign is the next step on our brand journey and we are confident that it will drive sales in 2024.”
Ross Neil, deputy executive creative director at VCCP London, added, “In most creative projects, the instinct is to keep adding more and more. However, simplicity proved crucial for capturing Charlie’s world, as originally envisioned by illustrator Emily Sutton. Striking a balance was key; too much detail would’ve overpowered the charm we sought – like over seasoning the perfect fish pie (sorry for that analogy). The challenge lay in animating Charlie authentically. The solution – a tight-knit team fostering honest conversations led to a film we’re immensely proud of. This is the start of a new chapter in Charlie Bigham’s story.”
Credits:
Client: Charlie Bigham’s
Advertising Agency: VCCP
Deputy Executive Creative Director: Ross Neil
Business Director: Clare Greenhalgh
Account Director: Sophie Abdo
Senior Account Manager: Jasmine Beale
Account Executive: Isabel Harrison
Head of Planning: Nicky Vita
Planning Director: Devin Ross
TV Producer: Rosie Good
Creative Producer: Matt Hearn
Media Buying Agency: Electric Glue
Media Planner: Lexi Booker
Production Company: Blinkink
Director: Isabel Garrett
Editor: Jac Clinch
Executive Producer: Josef Bryne
Producer: Rebecca Little
Post-Production Company: Blinkink
Post Producer: Rebecca Little
Colourist: Cheat
Sound Engineer: Major Tom
Pr & Social: MK21
