Giffgaff’s: “Are you on giffgaff or something?”
November saw one of reality TV’s greats: Big Brother, back on ITV for the second year running, joined again by their official network partner, giffgaff. The mobile network company launched their campaign “are you on giffgaff or something?”, which, alongside a wider brand campaign, saw a series of reactive partnership TV ads aired, featuring clips from the latest episodes, plus narration from the instantly recognisable voice of Big Brother, Marcus Bentley.
Reactive ads are those that respond, in real-time, to events, news, topics or cultural moments. It can help your brand to appear more relevant, relatable and show you’ve got your finger on the pulse.
Normally, to get an ad cleared for TV, we’d advise you to leave at least two weeks, to allow it to go through all three stages of the clearance process and to account for any unforeseen hold-ups. But of course, with reactive ads, this isn’t possible. So, what to do? First of all, don’t give up! If you have an interesting idea for an ad that you can’t see a way around, give us a call. Ultimately, we want to get ads to air, so we’ll find a way to make it happen wherever we can.
In a nutshell
ITV Creative approached us with their predicament, and we came through with solutions to get their unique ad campaign to screen on time. This largely came down to good planning and lots of collaboration. Not only with ITV, giffgaff, MG OMD, Pablo and Big Brother, but a bespoke Clearcast team-up, blending our range of services to achieve the quick and expert treatment required. The Clearcast team-up, this time, consisted of Copy Development Manager, Pete Bellas; Fast Track Manager, Matthew Stevens, and his team; and Business Affairs Manager, Danny Turner, with help from the TV Admin team.
How it worked
Here, we take a peek behind the curtain to show you how the various stakeholders made the TV element of this campaign happen and we share our top tips for the tricky task of getting reactive ads to air.
The fun 20-second ads, which were to air in the breaks of Big Brother across its six-week run, would incorporate footage of the housemates from that evening’s episode, along with quippy VO from Marcus Bentley, relating the footage to promotional claims about giffgaff’s offering.
This meant that we wouldn’t know what the finished ad would look or sound like, until the day it was due to air. So, we took a two-pronged approach to clearance – first, get it as ready as possible in advance (and pre-arrange the use of services for key times), then, be poised to get the last bits over the line on the day.
In advance
- Fast Track reviewed and approved the scripts and rough-cut videos. These were essentially mock-ups that contained some elements that would remain consistent across the finished ads, and some placeholders to give us an idea of what to expect from the reactive footage and VO. The team reviewed the claims, substantiation, legal supers and visual format to ensure compliancy.
- TV Admin handled the script and rough-cut submissions, by uploading them to The Library, along with supporting documents and metadata, and liaised with the Fast Track team, ITV and giffgaff, to get them swiftly approved.
On the day (airdate)
- Copy Development reviewed video clips sent by ITV of that evening’s show. Although Big Brother airs after 9pm, which allows for some room to push boundaries, the ads still had to be compliant with the TV ad rules and the previously approved script and rough cuts. Because of the nature of reality TV, clips could contain conversations or behaviour which could fall foul of the rules. Pete jumped on a call with ITV each day to discuss which clips were acceptable and which claims fit best.
- TV Admin handled the upload of the final TVC file for clearance, all the admin, delivery to stations and comms with all stakeholders to manage where the submission was in the process.
- Copy Development gave the last seal of approval by clearing the final ad! Although this isn’t a step usually completed by this team, this unique case required special treatment to make things smoother and quicker, given the short time frame.
The epic team up of Clearcast services, with ITV Creative, giffgaff, MG OMD, Pablo and Big Brother, plus a lot of planning and communication, meant that 16 ads were successfully submitted, edited, reviewed, cleared and delivered across the six-week period, without any delays or issues.
Reactive ads are growing in popularity, and it doesn’t stop there, as the industry often finds new ways to advertise, and boundaries continue to be pushed. If you have an idea that you’re not sure is doable, get in touch to chat and we’ll do our best to find a way to make it happen.
Let us focus on problem solving, so that you can focus on creativity!
Contact Pete at copydevelopment@clearcast.co.uk for more info.