Shane Meadows, top director of Brit-flick classics like ‘This Is England’, ‘Dead Man’s Shoes’ and ‘24/7’, has a new film that’s already winning awards and plaudits at far-flung film festivals. It stars the young actor discovered by Meadows for his last movie and is shot in North London in gritty black and white. It’s feature length and has long-time Meadows collaborator Paul Fraser on the writing credits … Oh, and it comes from agency Mother’s newest division Mother Vision and is entirely funded by Eurostar.
Product placement in movies isn’t the newest of inventions, as any Bond aficionado can testify, but the current craze for ‘branded content’ seems to have every client chomping at the bit for a slice of the infotainment. Recently we’ve had some superb shorts from Schwepps and The Sweet Shop and a smart piece for eBay, but with ‘Somers Town’ Mother Vision and Eurostar have opted to entirely eschew the conventional commercial stylings and length and opt instead for a movie that encapsulates the ethos of the brand.
Speaking of the origins of the project, Mother said, ‘Eurostar was getting ready for a landmark in its history - the launch of the UK’s first High Speed rail service, running from a newly built station at St Pancras in London. They were interested in marking the occasion with a piece of communication that had more longevity than perhaps a traditional ad campaign – something that could be enjoyed long after the station opened. The result is ‘Somers Town.’The Reel were lucky enough to attend a screening of the film and were left extremely impressed. Far from being an overlong commercial, the movie felt like a genuine artistic endeavor, encapsulating the benefits and joys of journeys rather than having shiny train drivers in shiny trains. Indeed in the introduction to the film, Eurostar head of UK marketing Greg Nugent commented that the only way Meadows could be cajoled into helming it was on the guarantee that there would be no ‘thumbs-up’ shots of railway folk.
Benefiting from exceptional performances from the leads (Turgoose again demonstrating the natural charisma evident in ‘This Is England’) and with Meadows trademark stark visuals and earthy humour, Somers Town succeeds in being a genuinely compelling piece of entertainment regardless of its origins. With virtually no brand intrusion from Eurostar, the company’s confidence in both filmmaker and agency is an important guideline to others looking to follow the same path. We’ll be keeping a close eye on Mother Vision’s exciting-sounding output (expect a newsletter/blog feature on the growth of branded content in the very near future), and look forward to a future full of entertainment – branded or otherwise! 
