Ad of the Day: Thinkbox - 'Harvey and Harmony'
Apparently this is the last Thinkbox ad that will feature Harvey the dog as he's getting a bit long in the tooth... and what a shame that is. His placid, patient face has served as the perfect foil to the big personality that lies beneath - as his own ad-based communications have shown.
It's been not only an engaging campaign but an extremely clever one. If you consider it, the proposition is a very tricky one to get right. Aimed at the rarefied few who have a significant budget for marketing their product or service, Thinkbox has to provide them with a strong rationale for spending that budget on TV - while keeping the attention of the general viewing public in the process.
Dry facts and figures just might have cut it on one level for the target audience, but on another it would have failed - if you're trying to convey the power of TV advertising, you want to show people how it works... not just tell them.
By suggesting that even a dog understands the persuasiveness of this medium, and creating a warm, funny story to demonstrate that, the campaign works on a meta-level too. It proves not only that TV can be highly effective for its audience, but by also engaging those outside the sphere of relevance a brand can enjoy increased consumer awareness, better public perception, and a higher degree of endorsement.
We'll be sad to see Harvey go, and hope he has a lovely retirement... how will Thinkbox fill his, er, shoes, we wonder?
Creative Agency The Red Brick Road
Creative Director Matt Davis / Richard Megson
Business Team Matt Anderson
TV Producer Charles Crisp / Charlotte Whittall (Assistant)
Film Production Academy Films
Director Us
Producer Dominic Thomas / Dom Thomas
Executive Producer Lizie Gower
Post Production Electric Theatre Collective
Colourist Aubrey Woodiwiss @ Electric Theatre Collective
Flame Paul Wilmot @ Electric Theatre Collective
Sound Design Parv Thind @ Wave