The Early Bird Gets the Breakfast Show
I am not a morning person.
But Dorset Cereals wanted to launch a new campaign declaring that ‘Life Begins at Breakfast’.
So once again, I had no choice but to put my personal beliefs aside for the sake of my career.
Fortunately, there is one group of people who genuinely seem to believe it. Breakfast radio hosts.
It’s their job to start the day with seemingly impossible levels of energy, coaxing the rest of the country into consciousness and helping us feel ready to face the day. Much like breakfast itself.
Inspired by the product’s rural roots, we imagined our own radio station, Dorset AM, broadcasting live from a tree somewhere in Britain’s idyllic countryside.
This was nature’s very own breakfast show. The dawn chorus, but with more Iggy Pop.
The host was, naturally, a bird called Robin Wakeley. Chirpy and relentlessly upbeat, he was joined by his slightly more grounded squirrel sidekick, Acorn Andy.
When it came to bringing this world to life, the animation needed to feel true to Dorset Cereals.
Natural. Handmade. Warm.
Nobody wants their muesli made by a computer. So we went old-school.
The entire woodland cast was lovingly handcrafted by the incredibly talented Jessica Dance, with just the slightest digital zhuzh.
In fact, the British lambswool used to make them was sourced just a stone’s throw from where the cereal itself was produced.
Robin Wakeley also took over the brand’s Twitter feed. Of course he did. Every morning, he shared shout-outs and a topical playlist to help get the nation going.
The film did not win any major awards. But The Grocer named it Cereal Ad of the Year. I never knew that was a thing, but I was delighted nonetheless.
