| Philosophy | As Coronavirus continues to impact the way we consume the things we love, football fans across the UK have been forced to rethink how they enjoy the beautiful game. From empty stadiums to restrictions on gatherings, families have been turning to their own homes as the place to both watch and practice sport. To help empower households to make the most of this difficult situation, Screwfix has debuted a series of idents that celebrate what can be achieved by shopping at Screwfix. The idents form part of the exclusive sponsorship (managed by Wavemaker) of Sky Sports’ broadcast and digital coverage of the English Football League (EFL), Scottish Professional League (SPFL) and Carabao Cup as well as sponsorship of ITV’s England Football coverage. In order to create the 10 different idents that will be broadcast across Sky Sports, ITV, STV, Quest and S4C, Screwfix turned to independent creative agency Five by Five. Having worked closely with the brand for over two years, Five by Five were the natural choice to spearhead the executions. Featuring a family of football fans, the cheerful spots blend product imagery with scenes of the family enjoying the sport in their home and garden. We watch as the family sets up their ‘stadium’, putting up ‘floodlights’ for their home pitch, creating makeshift goal posts, and even setting up the ever-controversial ‘VAR’. Whilst the original ambition was to shoot multiple families and households across the country, Five by Five proposed that focusing on one single family would establish a greater emotional affinity between the viewers and those on screen. As the seasons change in each story, we watch the family grow and develop, each character becoming more fully-formed as they continue to complete projects in the garden and enjoy football from home - no matter the weather. Although Coronavirus restrictions threatened to disrupt the creation of the idents, Five by Five were able to align multiple aspects of production to ensure a smooth completion of the project. Both casting and shooting took place in Manchester, with the agency working alongside production company Chief and director Ben Tonge to establish the authentic performances seen in the spots and, all-importantly, a safe shoot. Voice overs for the spots, provided by Clearcut Sound, were also completed remotely. |