When John Lewis makes a Christmas ad, it takes a huge team months and costs millions. When BLD BRO makes a Christmas ad, three of us spend a day in Tariq’s mum’s living room with a selection of wigs - and voilà!
In the summer, we actually reached the decision we probably didn’t have the time or money to make a Christmas ad. It was a sensible conclusion. Then, less than two months out from the big day, we changed our minds.
What started as a seed of an idea rapidly snowballed… What if we could make a Christmas TV ad without months and millions? Before Tariq’s mum knew it, boxes of wigs and Christmas decorations were arriving at her doorstep - her living room soon to become the stage for a 30-second festive film sure to tug at more heartstrings than Love Actually.
Next to arrive at her doorstep was Ben, shortly followed by Jake, who had hastily rented a car and driven the length of the country to shoot this shoestring Christmas commercial. They spent the evening transforming the living room into a set with Jake’s videographer mate Will, before thrashing out the plan for the big day ahead over a questionable curry.
If you want to know a real handy hack if you’re a startup wanting to make a budget Christmas TV ad - get yourself a Creative Director who spent years working as a filmmaker, and a Head of Social Media happy to step in and play an entire family. It will save you a fortune on crew and cast.
The day itself was a whirlwind of laughter and costume changes, and Ben giddily got to work crafting it into a commercial the following morning. When he shared a rough cut with the rest of the team he knew it could go one of two ways: either it wouldn’t be up to scratch, but at least we took a put at minimal expense, or they’d love it and want it plastered across screens far and wide… You probably don’t need telling which way it went.
The buzz around the ad brought with it plenty of questions that needed almost immediate answers: How do we get this on TV? How do we get this under 30 seconds? What is Clearcast? Do we need to license music? Do we need a voiceover? How do we join the ad up with our broader Christmas marketing?
It was all hands on deck to get these queries resolved sharpish. Ben went through dozens of revisions to get the ad TV-ready, Jake booked himself in for a photoshoot for our out-of-home ads, and customer service whizz Niki even lent her dulcet tones to the voiceover. Meanwhile, Tariq and Guy hashed out a last-minute deal with ITV, securing primetime slots on the channel across the Central and Granada regions.
Now, nestled in the ad breaks on I’m a Celebrity Get Me Out of Here! and The Chase alongside major commercials commissioned by global corporations, sits our little Christmas ad. Surreal.
Hopefully over the next few weeks you might catch it. Failing that, Jake’s mug will be plastered across tube stations, as well as bus stops and bogs up and down the country. Do say hi if you see him.
Most importantly, we hope our BLD BROs aren’t neglected this Christmas and are gifted the skincare they deserve.
Merry Christmas!
Ben, Rich & Tariq
#NoHairDontCare
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