BBC Sounds:
Tony Bellew is angry
Founded in 2018, BBC Sounds is a platform providing an online streaming media service, enabling audio downloads which include radio broadcasts, audio on demand, as well as podcasts. As the service is available across a wide range of devices and due to their brand reputation, they have a significant audience base.
Project overview
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Regions: UK only, hosted across social media platforms and BBC iPlayer.
Interests: Sports, celebrities and well-respected sportsmen
Demographic: Young men and students
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BBC Sounds have a broader target audience, however this commercial ad project was specifically briefed to be aimed at those who display a keen interest in sports and the lives behind the well-respected public figures in various sporting fields. In this case, it was a podcast hosted by Tony Bellew. As a result, the ideal target audience is young men, whereby BBC are providing listeners with a different take on the typical celebrity/sports star interview.
Their overall aim of this commercial ad was to push the release of their new podcast, Tony Bellew Is Angry. The podcast would go on to see a variety of celebrity guests joining Tony Bellew to divulge in moments their anger was truly tested to the limit.
The aim of this commercial video was to provide the client with content to use across their social platforms, as well as on BBC iPlayer, to peak interest from prospective listeners upon the release of their new podcast: Tony Bellew Is Angry. It was important in the planning process to ensure we tapped into the listenership of other popular sports podcasts and provide something alternative to the usual sports star interview. The client wanted to play on the anger element, ensuring this was portrayed in the ad in an absurd, humorous manner, in order to pack a punch.
We had quite a large input into this project, meaning the idea creation, scripting, production and post production was a full Bearded Fellow labour of love! The only part we were not involved in was securing Tony Bellew himself.
We delivered one main hero video, and then a series of engaging shorts for social media, enticing listeners to tune into the podcasts. The main video saw Tony Bellew perfectly conveying the ‘anger’ across to the viewer in a ‘deadpan’ manner, being sure to make the viewers laugh, while also very simply delivering the message of his new podcast being released.
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Main Hero Video – 55 seconds in length
A variety of shorts for use on their social media platforms
Client challenges
Short Timeframe
It was a late (but great!) decision by BBC Sounds to do a video creative to support the launch of the Tony Bellew podcast. The timeframe was tight, and this created a little pressure as we had to think fast and think creatively, as well as execute the video to match up with Mr. Bellew’s schedule to shoot.
However, this environment is one we thrive in as a creative agency! Creativity, we believe, is born out of necessity and difficult situations sometimes. There were many ‘moving parts’ to bring the team together, sourcing the location and matching everyone’s schedule was a tough feat, but we feel the outcome was certainly worth it.
Tone of voice
We needed the ‘anger’ element to come across in line with the undertone of the podcast, while also remaining engaging and simple to follow. We realised simplicity is key – we already have the huge name of Tony Bellew and it was just about enhancing what we have, rather than creating something entirely new. By ensuring we portrayed Tony in a light that was true to the public personality he usually delivers, Tony was comfortable and absolutely fantastic in projecting unrivalled energy, especially within the short timeframe we had him for.
The process
The initial planning required studying Tony Bellew’s public personality and ensuring the script was well-aligned with this. With the small budget in mind, we kept everything as simple as possible, which is when we decided to go with a ‘Behind-the-Scenes’ style commercial. The next step was finding the ideal location which we could mould to be the perfect space for the commercial video ad. We used a single camera setup in cinéma vérité style to create the look of an actual documentary, allowing its “deadpan” and “absurd” humour to be emulated well.
This supported the authentic and naturally written script to be captured as effectively as possible with the support of Tony’s delivery. During the editing process, it was vital we overlaid sound effects to fit with a typical ‘shoot’. It was also vital that we kept the video fast paced, capturing the emotions of Tony perfectly and delivering this in a short, sharp commercial ad to lure the viewer in.
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