Latest news from St Luke's

It's been a pretty busy time at St Luke's of late, and not only in terms of new work launching. We've welcomed Rose Van Orden as our new Planning Director and she'd been thrown straight in at the deep end, with new business projects and planning strategy for Very.co.uk. Rose joined us from the BBC where she was a senior planner for radio and music, driving insight for stations such as Radio 1 and Radio 4. We're thrilled to have her on board, and she's joined at what is a thriving time for the agency.

We celebrated St Luke's day on the 24th October which marked our 16th birthday. As the UK's longest running independent agency, it is undeniable that there have been some tight spots over the past few years, but St Luke's day gave us the opportunity to celebrate what a fantastic year we've had in 2013. Everyone got up to present the work we've done over the past few months, and we had speeches from CEO Neil Henderson and MD Dan Hulse to keep our motivation and spirits high. Then it was time for the party, with a kid's themed birthday party in the agency then on for a steak feast at the fantastic Sophie's Steakhouse. 

Happy Birthday St Luke's - we're all raring to go for an even better 17th year!

Ding - we're at the top of the charts with Littlewoods Funfair!

We're delighted to have tied at the top spot in Marketing Magazine's Top 10 ads of the week.

The chart of ads is based on those which are most highly recalled for that week, and our delightful Funfair advert and its respective 10" cutdowns have raced to the top of the chart with 44% recall, alongside the anti-smoking campaign Stoptober.

We've received great feedback in industry press and on social media for the campaign, which you can watch below featuring Myleene Klass, Mark Wright and a track from the up and coming singer Arlissa.

Local Business Accelerator Awards announces 2013 winner!

The Local Business Accelerators was an idea born here at St Luke's for our client the Newspaper Society, as a partnership between local papers, fledgling businesses and established business leaders to give businesses a boost with free local advertising and the support of business mentors. When 32.9 million people read a local newspaper every week, making it the most widely read print medium in Britain, it seemed like a great way to encourage both local newspapers and businesses alike.

This esteemed initiative is fronted by national ambassador and Dragons' Den star Deborah Meaden and backed by Prime Minister David Cameron. Now in its second year, the 2013 LBA Awards took place this week, where the winning business The York Cocoa House battled against 2,000 local businesses nationwide.

As the 2013 LBA national winner, York Cocoa House will receive a year's business mentoring from Deborah Meaden, a local newspaper ad campaign designed by us at St Luke's and £10k cash from the Business Growth Fund.

It's party time with Very.co.uk

Before you know it it’ll be party season, and in every office across the land colleagues will be dressing to impress and celebrate the festive season.

Our latest ad for Very.co.uk, which launches today (17^th October), is set at a stereotypical office party. As you would expect, there are streamers, cheese and pineapple chunks on sticks and the obligatory festive mistletoe, but continuing from our recent Definitions campaign we present the girls in gorgeous, head-turning outfits from the Very collection to create a much more stylish party than your average office do.

The ad follows a series of vignettes, shot using a motion control camera, which culminate in a final end scene featuring Fearne Cotton. The impressive soundtrack is an original remix of Tainted Love sang by Gloria Jones and remixed by up-and-coming producer Ryan Hemsworth, and is sure to catch your attention every time it comes on your TV.

All the dresses, including Fearne’s from her signature collection, can be shopped online at Very.co.uk, so make your Christmas party a stylish one this year.

Get a sneak peek of the ad by clicking on the image, or catch it on your screens from tonight! Let us know what you think at @stlukescomms.

Roll up! Roll up, to the Littlewoods Funfair!

To sit alongside our current Autumn Winter TV campaign for Littlewoods, featuring Myleene Klass and Mark Wright, we have been busy creating and developing a social media campaign to encourage interaction and engagement with the Littlewoods Funfair this season.

The Autumn social media campaign kicked off on October 3rd and will feature a series of Funfair themed Facebook games that employ a mixture of platforms including Twitter, Pinterest and Snapchat over the next month.

Littlewoods are offering participants a chance to win a range of prizes, from the latest tablets to fashion essentials. The games themselves are all based on classic funfair games, each given the Littlewoods touch – such as ' Snap-a-mole, Hook-a-Duck and Test your strength.'

The first game was Test Your Strength, which received over 1800 likes, making 3 winners. The 2nd game opens today, and you can keep up to date with all the games and have your chance to win on the Littlewoods Facebook page, and you can watch our Autumn Winter adverts here.

Cricket gets the Strongbow treatment

As a team at St Luke’s, we believe in practicing what we preach. So when positioning Strongbow as the brand which “rewards men who step up to a challenge and get the job done”, the next step was to set up some live challenges to see which Strongbow drinkers really could live up to their name! 

                                   

The first, Cricket, goes live today and shows the story of eight finalists (picked from thousands) who experienced two days of intense training before the final winner was selected to face an over from Jimmy Anderson in front of a 200-strong crowd. 

Keen cricketer, Pete Moxom was chosen as the winner to face deliveries travelling up to 85mph from Anderson. All he had to do was last the full over. Watch Pete step up and EARN IT. as he takes on Jimmy in the first Strongbow challenge.

If you think you have what it takes to EARN IT. there is still time to sign up for the Comedy challenge.

Strongbow Dark Fruit gets exemplary mention by Marketing Week event.

‘Outdoor Works’ an event run by Marketing Week magazine and the Outdoor Media Centre (OMC) has just taken place, with its over-arching theme as “The Power Of 5.” This refers to the five key benefits of outdoor advertising, according to the OMC, which are that it: Connects, Influences, Activates, Amplifies and Inspires.

Imagine our pride when we heard that our creative for Strongbow Dark Fruit was to be used as an excellent example of “attention-grabbing, disruptive creative executed at scale across a range of formats” by one of the expert guest speakers.

For our client to see their brand being praised on a big screen in front of hundreds of industry people is a huge credit to them, our team here and their collaborative efforts in strengthening the Strongbow brand as it expands its portfolio.

Cheers!

Autumn Winter 2013 gets the Littlewoods Touch

The nights are drawing in, and as we mourn the end of summer, it's time to get excited about the glow of Autumn and wrapping up from the cold.

Today we launched our Autumn Winter advert for Littlewoods! Set at a beautiful traditional fairground, Myleene Klass is back to give her "Littlewoods Touch" and we have a cameo appearance from Goodsouls brand ambassador and TV presenter Mark Wright. The soundtrack is by up and coming singer Arlissa and is called "Into the Light" and you can watch it from the image below.

The advert showcases the fantastic pieces available in the AW13 women’s fashion range as well as featuring key items from the children’s and men’s collections. Myleene travels through the fairground, giving the "Littlewoods Touch" to transform outfits from casual day to sumptuous nightwear. We've got all the trimmings - a coconut shy, candy floss stand, a beautiful Victorian style steam carousel and a   Test Your Strength Machine, which is where she meets Mark Wright. 

It was a fantastic set, and we definitely got involved with the carousel while shooting! Myleene and Mark also appeared to enjoy themselves, as they got involved with the Behind the Scenes film which you can watch here.

Our display at St Luke's has also joined in with the occasion, and features candy floss, coconuts, sweeties, yellow ducks and fairy lights!

Follow us on Twitter at @stlukescomms and let us know what you think!

Whatever you do, do it in style with Definitions

Our much anticipated 'Everyday Stylish' campaign for Very.co.uk went live on 5th September, with its debut 30s spot during Emmerdale and the 40s during X Factor last Saturday night!

The ad follows a series of beautifully stylish women carrying out a series of banal activities but looking amazing in the new Definitions range from the brand. The idea behind the campaign is to show that no matter what you are doing: in the office, doing your weekly shop or making your breakfast, then Very can help you find the right outfit to make you feel fabulous.
 
Using motion control technology, along with trying to capture the stillness and beauty of a typical fashion photo shoot, results in a sumptuous film with a fluid and dream like quality.  By limiting movement to only a few small elements within the ad, then we are able to really focus the attention on the details of the product. The ethereal soundtrack is Fineshrine by Purity Ring, and it adds a whole new level of cool to the Very portfolio.

The campaign can also be seen across: static & digital posters, online and print, so it can't be missed!Watch below, and let us know what you think!

Who Earned the right to take on Jimmy Anderson in our Strongbow Cricket Challenge?

On the 16th of September we are going to finally reveal the lucky winner of our recent Strongbow Cricket Challenge.

Facing 6 balls from Jimmy Anderson, one of England's fastest bowlers, is no easy task. Thousands of you stepped up and only 8 lucky people made it through to the training and audition stage BUT there can only be one winner. Watch the video below to get a taste of what is coming...

Dark Fruit has got the bottle

It's been a rip-roaring success in cans, and now Strongbow have released the bottled variety of Dark Fruit. We've got a new OOH poster to mark the launch, challenging you to grab the bottle from its thorny grip to earn its darkly refreshing taste.

The dark glass bottle and the black, gold and purple branding reflect the premium feel to this cider, and allow it to stand out even more from the rest of the Strongbow range. Infused with juices of blackberries and blackcurrants and the Strongbow sharpness mean this is no feeble fruity cider.

Very does dating in style with Girlfriends

You enjoy watching dating shows on TV. Come on, admit it. 

Whether you keep it under wraps or are openly besotted, there is something undeniably captivating about watching people flirt, trying to impress or going on a date. Call it nosey, call it research, or simply trying to make yourself feel better; from the good old days of Cilla and Blind Date to Take Me Out, First Dates, The Bachelor and Love Machine, as a nation we have been bitten by the dating TV love-bug.

Very.co.uk are sponsoring the new series of ITV2’s latest offering “Girlfriends”, which twists the dating show format as it focuses on three single ladies who move in together and meet/interview each of the 100 men who come to the Girlfriends' house, choosing who they’d like to date as they go along. But with a limited number of dates allowed, and competition amongst themselves to bag Mr Right, there will definitely be some drama along the way.

We have created a series of 6 sponsorship idents for Very, which will bookend the show's breaks with different date scenarios - from a movie night, to a picnic, dinner and the will they or won’t they? kiss on the doorstep - all showing the date girl and her counterparts looking perfectly stylish with every detail covered. From the last minute accessory, to the more abstract tissue on hand to wipe away a tear, we show that Very have got your back to make sure you’re ready to take on your love life in style.

The new series of Girlfriends starts tonight, Wednesday 14^th August at 9pm on ITV2. 

You can check out all the idents in the image above, and I admit, I’ll be watching.