U.K. home improvement retailer B&Q shows how it can help customers when life changes in a beautifully crafted spot that literally “flips” a house to reflect just that.
The latest TV ad for the brand from Uncommon for the brand begins with a woman finding out she’s pregnant. At first, she hides the positive test from her partner and older child, as she gazes around her home and thinks about what will have to change, clicking into the B&Q app on her phone. Then, the house starts to rotate onto its side; books slide from shelves, pots and pans fall onto the floor, chairs and tables cling to walls.
Unperturbed, the protagonist jumps out of the window and then ascends the garden path like it’s a mountain (according to the agency, the actress is a trained rock-climber). After gazing down at her home from its peak, she comes back down and finds the garden, and house, redesigned, including with a nursery. Only then does she reveal her pregnancy news.
The spot, set to David Bowie’s track “Sound and Vision,” was directed by Oscar Hudson (Apple’s “Bounce”) and was shot entirely in-camera, after numerous models, 3D builds and several practice sets brought the 24-ton rotating set to life. According to the agency, the house itself was built to fit in a soccer stadium, as no regular studios had a large enough capacity, and at its highest point, the double-sided structure was over six stories high. Production was by Pulse, with VFX by Electric Theatre Collective.
The ad will run across TV, cinema and video-on-demand in the U.K., with print and outdoor to follow.
“Today, as the world opens up, change continues to be all around us,” said Chris Graham, B&Q’s director of marketing, in a statement. “Adapting to that change isn’t always easy and when it comes to home improvement our customers have less and less time to make the changes they need. Almost a third of consumers tell us that time is a key barrier for them. At B&Q, we’re on a mission to ensure that improving a home and building a life with B&Q is easy and convenient—whether via our stores, our app or online at DIY.com.”
“Nobody just wakes up and decides to improve their home,” added Nils Leonard, co-founder of Uncommon, in a statement. “Life happens, things change, and your home needs to change with them. Uncommon wanted to take our partnership with this iconic British brand to a new level with this campaign, and we wanted to work with the best British talent to realize it. David Bowie is the soundtrack to the excellent Oscar Hudson’s vision capturing a moment of change, made easy.”
