The innovative, live-action billboard was shown on four of the UK’s largest screens, including The Piccadilly Lights site.
M&S Food’s live-action, 3D Out of Home billboard brought the chill vibes of happy cows at a Northern Ireland farm to the heart of the UK’s biggest cities.
“Chilled cows, chilled milk”, produced by Mindshare, Kinetic and DOOH.com, featured a dynamic scene of cows living happily at one of M&S’s 38 farms providing milk for the supermarket chain.
In the spot, a striking visual of Daisy, an endearing cow, playfully leaned out of the screen’s frame to engage with viewers, even going so far as to stick her tongue out at passers-by.
The campaign highlights M&S’s role as the only national retailer to produce 100% RSPCA-assured milk, a title given by the RSPCA to companies that commit to meeting higher animal welfare standards.
Becky Power, executive creative director at Mindshare UK, said: “‘Chilled cows, chilled milk’ not only showcases a world-first use of live action 3D footage, but also captivates the audiences through a striking creative and by bringing the farm experience to the heart of urban landscapes. This campaign perfectly brings together creativity, technology and values, encapsulating M&S Food’s commitment to ethical practices.”
Andrew Newman, chief executive of DOOH.com, explained that, “unlike previous 3D out-of-home campaigns”, the innovative spot was filmed “in-camera and on-location”. He also claimed it was not produced with the use of CGI, as this would cause the campaign to “lack authenticity”.
He added: “We achieved [these effects] through a complex technique to pull focus on each layer of our horizon, shooting on all lenses between 15mm to 85mm and then re-stitching each in-focus slate before the grade.”
Newman added that to earn Daisy’s trust and ensure a comfortable filming session, expert animal trainers from animal casting agency A-Z Animals were appointed during the making of the campaign.
“After eight days of training, on the day of the shoot she knew her walking route, where to stand, and how to stretch her head out so that she never broke the edge of the frame. All of this was captured in one 20-second take,” he said.
The campaign ran on four large-format screens across the UK: one on The Screen at Arndale in Manchester, and three in London, including Four Dials at Westfield Stratford, Canary Wharf and The Piccadilly Lights.
The outdoor work complements a TV and online campaign fronted by celebrity chef Tom Kerridge, which depicts him exploring the farms that supply M&S Food.
This article was initially published in Campaign.
