Press release -
RAC brings tools to life in Fantasia summer TV ad
We don’t just tow you to a garage – we bring the garage to you’
The RAC is continuing its move away from the established norm of UK breakdown cover advertising with an animated summer TV ad that brings the tools on an average patrol van to life in Pied Piper fashion.
Breaking on Wednesday 10 July, the 30-second stop-frame animation shows the vast number of tools and parts carried by RAC patrols which enable them to fix four out of five vehicles at the roadside. All the animal-like tool characters are pictured parading onboard an RAC van, with the patrol firmly taking the role of magician.
The ad, which conjures up magical memories of Walt Disney’s Fantasia, tells motorists that ‘this summer we know you need to get where you’re going and that’s why every RAC patrol is equipped with 500 parts and tools and a qualified mechanic’ and finishes with the industry-challenging line: ‘We don’t just tow you to a garage, we bring the garage to you’.
Running until 14 September, the BBH created brand and DRTV ad, has high profile ITV1 evening slots in new drama Love and Marriage, and Law and Order, with a visit to Emmerdale on Friday evening as well as a wide range of nationwide day-time terrestrial and satellite spots. The campaign also includes radio in August and extends across display, direct mail, inserts and online.
RAC chief marketing officer John Orriss says: “We’ve been working hard to bring some much-needed new life to the run-of-the-mill advertising in the category which usually tries to scare motorists into taking out cover. This execution is the exact opposite as it’s full of warmth and positivity which reflects the way we want our roadside assistance and everything the RAC offers the motorist to be conveyed.
“We know that summer-time journeys are full of excitement and expectation so we wanted to reassure people that the skill of our mechanics together with all the tools and parts they carry combines for an outstanding vehicle fix rate that will help them to get where they want to go rather than being towed to a garage.
“The ad is another visualisation of the RAC’s promise to be the motorist’s champion. Our strapline ‘Motorists. We salute you.’ – a subtle acknowledgement to the times when our patrols used to salute members at the roadside – is really starting to resonate with members and motorists alike.”
Creative Credits:
BBH Creative Team: Maria Sousa Machado & Claire Stokes
BBH Creative Director: Nick Kidney & Kevin Stark
BBH Producer: Samara Zagnoiev
BBH Strategic Business Lead: Richard Stainer
BBH Strategy Director: Nick Fell
BBH Team Director: Jon Barnes
BBH Team Manager: Rebecca Levy
Production Company: Passion Pictures
Director: Drew Lightfoot
Executive Producer:
Producer: Simon Quinn
Live Action Producer: Jason Lovelock
DoP: Peter Sorg
Post Production: Passion Pictures & The Mill
Editor/Editing House: Ben Stephens/Whitehouse Post
Music: THECOMPOSERS.TV / Chris Read
Sound: Factory
Sound Engineer: Anthony Moore & Jon Clarke
Exposure (where is this work running, country and media type): UK, TV only
Topics
Notes to Editors
About the RAC
First formed in 1897, the RAC has been looking after the needs of its members and championing the interests of drivers for more than 120 years.
Today it has more than eight million members and is one of the UK’s most progressive motoring organisations, providing services for both private and business motorists. Whether it's roadside assistance, insurance, buying a used car, vehicle inspections and checks, legal services or up-to-the-minute traffic and travel information – the RAC offers a solution for all motoring needs. The RAC is committed to making motoring easier, safer, more affordable and more enjoyable for drivers and road users.
The RAC is the motorist’s champion and campaigns to support the interests of its members and UK drivers at a national level. This includes voicing concerns about the increasing cost of motoring, particularly the price of fuel and the high level of tax levied on it, advancing levels of road safety, and supporting the needs of all drivers, from young to old.
The RAC’s annual Report on Motoring – first published in 1989 – is one of a kind and provides a clear insight into the concerns and issues facing today’s motorists.
For the very latest news on UK fuel prices, check RAC Fuel Watch. It provides a comprehensive guide to the latest UK unleaded petrol and diesel prices – both at the wholesale level and at the pump - and tracks these prices daily to help drivers check if the price they pay to fill up is a fair one.
