LEGO TV Takeover Recreates Ads

Ad break takeovers are an uncommon occurrence on TV but when they do happen, they’re usually quite special. Add some brilliant animation and universal brand appeal and they get even more attention-grabbing, like the most recent exle which aired on UK channel ITV on Sunday night for upcoming Warner Bros release The LEGO Movie.

Building with brands

Aired during the middle slot of Dancing on Ice, the channel broadcasted a special segment, set up by Omnicom Media Group’s PHD and agency Drum, which saw scenes from existing national TV ad caigns recreated (above) in the form of the world’s favourite building block with the same visual style of the upcoming Warner Bros film.

Four commercials were immortalised in the segment including spots for The British Heart Foundation, Confused.com, BT and Premier Inn, with the fifth in the break devoted to the official trailer for The LEGO Movie – released in cinemas across the UK and Ireland this Friday (14 February).

PHD and Drum approached all the advertisers involved, who saw the slot as a great opportunity for their brands to be exposed to wider audiences, with a further reach.

Animated aid

“Our ‘Vinnie’ ad was chosen to be part of the caign due to its popularity and iconic status,” said Grey London. The original ad, Hard and Fast, sees Hollywood hard man Vinnie Jones talking about the importance of saving a life with CPR, before acting out the physical steps aided by two henchman.

“From a creative point of view I was well up for it,” declares executive creative director at Grey London, Vicki Maguire. “Vinnie is a great exle of a caign crossing over from advertising into popular culture, something that actually gets people in the real world talking about it. For a massively loved brand like LEGO to homage it like this… I’m quite honoured actually. And with over half a million [online] views since Sunday, plus five million watching live on Sunday night, that’s another five and a half million people who know how to save a life.”

Droning on

Another iconic figure in today’s pop culture is Publicis’ BRIAN character from its caign for price comparison website Confused.com. In the original ad, Local Youth, the robot is seen offering advice to a group of teenagers and saving one in particular money on his car insurance as a result.

“We were thrilled that BRIAN had been offered such a unique advertising opportunity and didn’t hesitate to jump on board,” says Fiona Creedon, head of advertising at Confused.com. “LEGO is an iconic worldwide brand and it was an exciting prospect to have one of BRIAN’s adventures immortalised in LEGO. For us as a brand, seeing ‘LEGO BRIAN the Robot’ continue on his mission to save people money was an opportunity not to be missed.”

Life of BRIAN

Recreating the funny, memorable scenario has also proved to be a hit and a worthy inclusion alongside BHF in LEGO’s segment, which presents the characters from the movie between the ads. But out of all the short spots that BRIAN features in, why did the company choose this particular ad to feature?

“We wanted to choose an advert that we knew our customers loved,” explains Creedon. “We had lots of great BRIAN adventures to choose from but felt that this encounter with the ‘local youths’ would be really enjoyable to watch in LEGO. We especially wanted to see how BRIAN’s ‘burnout’ would look in LEGO and we were delighted with the end result.”

Home comforts

Following the insurance spot, the takeover moved on to a BT commercial, also one taken from an ongoing caign following a fictional story about a pair of teenagers living in a flat and the benefits they see for having a good broadband connection. Comic and brand ambassador for Premier Inn, Lenny Henry, also makes an appearance as his LEGO counterpart in a recreation of its In Bed with Lenny ad for the hotel chain to lead up to the big movie trailer finale.

Creative credit

“I thought the ad break was a genius idea from PHD & Drum,” continues Maguire. “I laughed out loud at LEGO Lenny Henry! I think it was a brilliant move to demonstrate the breadth of the movie itself, too. It’s a win/win – they should be fucking applauded, it was great to see it happen.”

It’s a feeling that Creedon naturally echoes: “The overall ad break was highly entertaining and a joy to watch for fans of LEGO and BRIAN the Robot alike. The positive sentiment generated online for all involved was phenomenal.”

The TV takeover has clearly proved a winner for all involved, and most notably the movie, which you can learn more about in the film below.