So, there we all were recovering from the World Cup final half-time extravaganza – or load of “crap” as Wayne Rooney branded it – and up pops a four-minute spot fronted by Romesh Ranganathan, posing the question “What has the BBC ever done for me?”
Devised by BBC Creative, the ad revisits a 1980s campaign starring John Cleese in which he asks a pub full of stars “What has the BBC ever given us?” and reimagines the question for a new generation 40 years later.
Designed as a theatrical celebration of the BBC’s contribution to British life, it features over 90 stars, many of whose careers have been championed by the BBC, including Claudia Winkleman, Greg James, Trevor Nelson, Sara Cox, Anita Rani and Chris McCausland, as Romesh is reminded of the many ways in which the BBC has contributed to everyday life.
The spot is directed by Dougal Wilson from Blink Productions, and with original music by Ben Foster, Ben Bailey Smith and Andy Burrows performed by the BBC Concert Orchestra and the BBC Singers, and takes audiences on a journey through the BBC’s offering, weaving together drama, comedy, entertainment, sport, children’s content, radio and news.
It opens against the backdrop of the EastEnders Queen Vic pub, as we are taken on a nostalgic tour of the corporation, where Romesh moves through a catalogue of varying BBC settings, encountering familiar faces and characters along the way: from Chris Martin performing at the pub’s piano to Louis Theroux hanging out backstage. The film weaves its way through some of the BBC’s radio networks and takes a diversion via Wimbledon, to showcase the scale and variety of the BBC’s output.
Just as the film moves from one programme, character and service to the next, it reflects the BBC’s ongoing role in bringing people together through the stories, entertainment and experiences it continues to deliver every day.
BBC Creative director Justin Bairamian said: “This campaign is a timely reminder of the value the BBC creates every day. Forty years after the question was first posed, we’re returning to it through a new generation of stars and programmes. The film is a creative tribute to the answer, which lies in the millions of moments that inform, educate and entertain audiences across the UK, and in the value it brings to national life.”
The campaign extends beyond the film, and will run across TV, radio, cinema, social media, digital platforms, newsletters and BBC iPlayer.
So, what is the consensus around the Decision Marketing office?
Well, perhaps unsuprisingly, the ad has upset a few more people than Rooney, being blasted as “smug”, “toe-curling” and “nauseating” by the usual suspects, while others have welcomed it as an emotional and powerful defence of one of the most important public institutions.
But at a time when the Beeb is under growing financial pressure, a decline in people buying a TV licence, a review of its charter and the need to justify millions in public funding, the corporation has a fight on its hands.
And, what better way than to come out fighting than by showing exactly what the BBC is all about? Whether it needed “90 stars” to show that, of course, is another matter but no doubt Auntie loves it…
Decision Marketing Adometer: A “boxing clever” 9 out of 10
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