When the UK thinks of Argos at Christmas, they think of one thing - TOYS.

So this year, we wanted to pull out all the stops with Connie and Trev. And show people they sell premium products too, such as smoke / coffee machines and wind turbines / hair dryers.

The campaign consisted of a launch film and some funny tens. But also, social bloopers and trippy ASMRGOS films. Beautifully written by Carl Story and shot by the legendary Traktor.

This was accompanied by lots of beautiful press and outdoor, shot by the brilliant James Day.

“Do you have sex?’

“Can you use a phone?”

“Do you have a job?”

It’s hard to believe some of the questions visually impaired people are asked every day.

Which is something we wanted to tackle with Before you Ask. A campaign featuring visually impaired people, setting the record straight. Written by Jane Reader and Hayley Hammond, the ads feature several amazing people from the community who couldn’t wait to tell sighted people what it’s really like living with sight loss.

The campaign features stunning film assets shot by Chris Balmond. An outdoor and press campaign. Not to mention radio, written and performed by Ellen Renton - A visually impaired poet.

The campaign had an instant impact. Picking up lots of positive press PR. But most importantly, getting the community opening up on social media. And Brian Blessed OBE share it too. Random but brilliant.

When we were tasked with coming up with a campaign that would increase brand love for British Gas, we knew it wasn’t going to be easy! Certainly not after the last 18 months.

But the brand had a great offer in half price electricity on Sundays, we just had to find an interesting way to talk about ‘Peak Save’.

In stepped Daniel O’Keefe and Adam McGowen with this lovely idea, shot by Traktor.

The campaign was fronted by the epitome of positive British energy - Team GB.

We see these national treasures performing at their peak. But at home. Rather than at the Olympics.

The campaign has been given the brand a huge shot of brand love. And subscriptions to Peak Save have seen a massive spike.

In December 2022, we pitched and retained the Pets at Home business with a big idea. That celebrated the nation’s obsession with Pets.

Backed by a national survey that discovered that Brits prefer walking the dog to having sex, and prioritising the happiness of their rabbit over their children, the challange was to bring this to life in an uplifting brand film.

In stepped the brilliant Freddie Powell, to shoot the script written by ourselves, Ted Price and Adam Jackson.

The end result went down very well with the public. Increasing PAH sales upon launch. And also picking up various press love. It also picked up some Kinsale Sharks.

Did you know that Argos is the biggest stockist of Apple products after Apple? Or that they sell the finest furniture and latest homewares?

Probably not. Because when the UK thinks of Argos, they think of one thing. And that’s TOYS.

To help shake off the stigma of being a giant toy shop, we created a reappraisal campaign. Starring the last two characters you’d expect to talk about all this cool stuff - two toys. Connie the doll (voiced by Ruth Bratt) and Trev the dinosaur (voiced by Charlie Cooper).

Written by Ryan Delaney and Emma Thomas, and shot by James Rouse, the films show Connie and Trev interacting with all this cool merch.

The campaign ran across TV and social. Not the mention as a series of fun idents during Corrie.

This was supported by OOH. Including a monster IMAX site. Which we wrapped with Connie’s golden locks.

The campaign was a big success. Setting new records for effectiveness at Argos. And picking up plenty of industry PR too. Also, sales in the Connie and Trev have gone up 400%!

Over the last few years, Christmas had seen many misfires thanks to various lockdowns and curveballs.

So 2022 was gunna be a big one. When you had as many people over as possible. Problem is, how to you cater for the world and it’s dog descending upon you for 2 days in December?

Simple. Argos has got you covered.

As we showed in this campaign, which took over TV, cinema, outdoor and social. Reminding people of all the tribes they’d soon be seeing. From the aunts with boozy trifles, to the feral nephews armed to the teeth with Nerf guns.

The campaign landed very well. Making many top 5 Christmas ad lists. And gaining quite a few ad of the days too. Argos also sold a lot more ‘bigger bowls’ than they ever expected.

Back in 2013, we were briefed to come up with a brand film for Robinsons, encouraging parents to enjoy more active play with their children. We created 'Pals', starring two boys with an inseparable bond. But then we discover there is more than meets the eye. The reaction to this film was fantastic.

Winning awards at Campaign Big, Cannes, and making AdWeek's Top 10 Global ads.

In 2016, Tesco approached us with quite a large task. They wanted to change the nation’s perception that Tesco doesn’t care about food.

Our response was ‘Food Love Stories’. A fully integrated campaign that tapped into the dishes we all love, and the stories behind them.

After 45 films, 65 posters and 50 in store takeovers, Food Love Stories has transformed the public’s perception, and become the most successful retail campaign in history. Generating growth for nine consecutive quarters. Causing a Balti curry paste shortage when ‘Hot or not curry’ launched! And winning the Cannes Media Grand Prix in 2018.

We love retail.

And over the years, have creative directed some pretty big accounts. Including the giants Tesco and Very.

We pitched and won the Very account whist at Grey. And created lots of work we are proud of. Including a launch film and OOH campaign. A Back to School ad soundtracked by the legendary Stormzy. And also, a film which showed us defiantly having fun at home during Lockdown. In ‘Our House’. The work really shifted the needle for the brand. And set new sales records two years in a row.

When we first took over on Tesco, the brand was well and truly in the mud. Having been voted the nations most disliked supermarket. But after reinvesting in Every Little Helps, and creating comms that actually helped people and raised a smile, we turned the ship around. To such an extend, we won Campaign brand of the year.

Across both accounts we won quite a few awards. Incuding Creative Circles for Very.

We worked on British Airways for a couple of years. And it was an absolute blast.

Ahead of the London Olympics, British Airways wanted to come up with a disruptive idea that would show their commitment to Team GB.

We created 'Don't Fly'. A campaign which encouraged the UK to ditch their holiday, and stay in Blighty to support Jess and Co instead.  Online, we created 'Plane Down your Street'. A customisable version of the TVC, where the viewer would see the BA777 drive past their house (with a little help from Google Street View).

The campaign went on to be a huge success. Over 5 million people drove a plane down their street. 25% of digital publicity during the games was BA related. And the airline was voted the number one sponsor of London 2012. It also picked up two arrows at the BTAA, a Creative Circle and a Campaign Big award.

We also created a pre-Olympics film starring bags racing each other around the luggage system at T5 which was super fun. And also, a social stunt called Tweetliner. Where tweets would power a virtual plane in a race across the Atlantic against the new Dreamliner. This won Twitter’s most innovative stunt award.

At the start of 2020, Aunt Bessies asked us to come up with a new platform for the brand. Something rooted in ‘care’ that would emotionally resonate with the public. Jesse Little came up with the brilliant idea of ‘Caring is the hardest thing we do’. A fresh take on care. Which heroes the things we do for the ones we love.

The launch film for the platform was ‘Nan’. A story which is very close to Chris. As this is actually his story. About his amazing ‘Nanna June’, who was certified blind at the age of 16. But still cooked an amazing roast for the family every Sunday. June was played by Julie Bennet. A blind actor who played the role beautifully, under the amazing direction of Tom Green.

The response to the film has been quite something. It got Pick of the Day on Campaign and Dave Reviews. ‘Nan’ also got lots of PR in the US when AdAge gave it the Editor’s pick.

But best of all, the film was picked up by the BBC. Who interviewed Chris on Radio 4, in a show dedicated to people living with disabilities. As the ad broke boundaries by casting a blind person in a leading role.

We hope this will open the door for more of the same.

'The Chokeables' is one of the campaigns we're most proud of. As this film has been attributed to saving over 50 choking babies lives. Which is just about the greatest response we could have wished for.

In addition to the main film and social outtakes, we also created a charming book. About a pen who went in search of his missing lid. Only to discover it had been swallowed by a baby. This helped to raise money for the charity.

Jelly baby, Princess, lid and marble made not only made headline news, They also helped us pick up a D&AD pencil and a Creative Circle too. Thanks guys.   

We don’t just love food. We love food accounts too.

As CDs on Weetabix, we created lots of work we are proud of. From the then most successful Weetabix of all time in ‘Jack’, to it’s sequel called ‘SUB’. Which set a new record. And is now the highest performing ad Weetabix has ever made!

It also became part ITV’s ‘People’s Ad Break’. Which saw hundreds of kids recreating ads to go on TV. Here is the winner. Which is nothing short of brilliant.

And on KFC, we created two very different kinds of films. The first was a Christmas song, which had fun with the insight that the one thing we can all agree on is the delicious taste of KFC. The second, something less LOL. But beautiful. In the form of a touching tale about a guy trying to court his crush in the deep South of America.

We’ve been very lucky in our career when it comes to automotive brands.

Having grown up admiring Audi and VW campaigns, we were given the honour of creative directing both these accounts. In the form of Audi Global and VW Commercial Vehicles. This led to lots of fun and varied work.

From a comedy content series for Audi, poking fun at when Ai doesn’t quite get you. To a campaign which gets inside the head of the small business and VW van owner.

Big thanks to all the amazing people we collaborated with to create this work.

Sam Brown, Harold Zwart, Mike McGuire to name but a few.

What a ride.

At the start of 2021, Rebel Kitchen approached us with an interesting brief. They wanted to create a billboard that would show their rebel credentials, but also, grab headlines.

Our answer were a series of posters which show both sides of Mylk. At first glance, they appear clean and wholesome. But then we reveal a more rebellious message. In this case, something for the then president of the United States, who was encouraging his supporters to storm Capitol Hill.

The billboards certainly got headlines. News sites in the US picked up on these posters, as did journalists in the UK. The ex President of the United States was unavailable for comment.

In 2017, we won the bwin pitch with an idea that was a world first - Betting ads you can actually bet on. Thanks to this fully integrated campaign, nearly half a million people bet on 'The Race'. With the result being revealed two weeks later, in the middle of the Champions League semi final. 

The response was so good, that when it came to creating an ad for the 2018 World Cup, the brand stayed with our pitch winning idea. ‘Who Stole the Cup?’ was a heist film that invited the viewer to bet on which football icon they thought had stolen the trophy.

The campaign picked up gongs at Campaign Big, the Ciclope awards, and even managed to shift bwin’s share price globally by 26%.