Plum viewing for babies

Work Club, the new agency from the founders of Agency Republic and former Mother Creative Director Ben Mooge, has launched a series of online short films for the premium baby food brand Plum. The films are aimed at parents with babies in the 10 to 18-month range and include such baby friendly scenes as animals filmed against bright backgrounds, musical sequences of lights and balloons and a natural peek-a-boo.

However, the most striking aspect of the films is the music specially composed by BAFTA-winning composer Laura Forrest-Hay, there’s much banjo, violin, trumpet and glockenspiel playing and we’re sure even the grumpiest baby will be made chirpy by the joyous sounds. Susie Willis, mother of three and founder of Plum Baby, said of the idea behind the 3 x seven-minute films, ‘Great taste for me is about discovery, trying things you have never tried before and developing and exciting the senses. These feel-good films hopefully do just that – and give mums a special relaxing experience with their baby.’



To make the experience as beneficial for parents and babies as possible, the process of creating the films was supervised by Baby Psychologist Dr Pat Spungin, who was very positive about the innovation of Plum Vision, saying, ‘It is so important for mums to have relaxing, quality time with their babies. Plum Vision offers a wonderful experience of the sights and sounds of nature in your very own home. It is so refreshing to see something for babies, which just uses natural images, as opposed to cartoons and computer graphics.’


The whole idea of 'relaxation' means that the films are best viewed on a wireless laptop in a comfortable environment for parent and baby, but either way, the overall effect marks a new beginning for branded content as the brand increasingly enters the periphery and the target audience becomes more widespread and varied, moving away from the previous media savvy demographic.

The films are accompanied on the Plum Vision site with tips for mums and dads on how to interact with their babies while watching the films together, parents can also comment on the films and share favourite chapters with other users. Take a look at www.plum-vision.co.uk.

Goin' Down To Somers Town

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!