Monday, September 15, 2008

Born and Bread

The new Hovis ad is a staggering 122 seconds long, once for every year they have been around. But you know what, it fills every one of those 122 seconds whithout losing its way or feeling like it is buying for time.

It is essentially a run through the recent history of Britain, but done in such a way that it never feels contrived, cheap or sappy.

The kid playing the lead role is excellent, he gives it the northern charm that we all sort of associate with Hovis. The ad is well shot, the music is good and it really gets across the reliable and timeless nature the brand aims for.

And as Scamp rightly points out, the ad is all the better for showing sombre moments of our history, and the client deserves credit for letting an ad like this get through as it is.

122 seconds well filled. If only other agencies could get the same quality into their 1min ads.


2 comments:

SchizoFishNChimps said...

When an ad is done this well, you can forget how others before it have used the same method. Was it VW Golf that did a similar thing a few years ago? I'm sure there are more. Still, it's shamelessly British and nostalgic, which is always a good, reassuring tactic in a recession.

Robert said...

Billy Elliott meets Hovis.

I like it ... total agency indulgence [122 seconds!!!] but I do feel a twang of positive nostalgia which is more than can be said for most.