Created by Miles Calcraft Briginshaw Duffy, the spot encapsulates the entire time period by using a boy who picks up his bread in 1886.
During his journey home, he travels through time and Britain’s major historic events, to deliver it to his mum in 2008.
As he walks out of the shop, wearing a cloth cap and scruffy clothes, he is almost run over by a horse and carriage.
As his journey progresses, and his clothes change to suit the era, he runs past women’s rights marches, posters for the Titanic and young soldiers marching to World War I.
He then climbs over the debris of the Blitz and past charred remains of houses.
The second half of his journey sees him run through a street party for the Coronation, pass by people celebrating the 1966 World Cup win, get stuck in the middle of a stand-off between miners and coppers, and witness fireworks heralding the new millennium.
It ends with him dropping the bread on his mum’s table.
Credits
Project
Hovis relaunch
Client
Jon Goldstone, marketing director, Hovis
Brief
Re-establish Hovis as a legendary bread brand
Creative agency
Miles Calcraft Briginshaw Duffy
Writer
Gavin Torrance
Art director
Danny Hunt
Planner
Andy Nairn
Media agency
Starcom MediaVest
Media planner
Jon Kershaw
Production company
Rattling Stick
Director
Ringan Ledwidge
Editor
Richard Orrick, Work
Post-production
The Mill
Audio post-production
Wave
Exposure
National TV, national press
Comments
At first I thought it was sentimental tosh but it probably manages to pull it off - just.
Superb. So simple, so obvious, so right.
I thought this was excellent. Reminds me of a film I've seen.
What a fantastic advert! I absolutely loved it!
oustanding...really puts Hovis up a notch
I like the car full of Spurs fans. Brilliant ad as well.
Perfect!! That's a brilliant ad.... definitely needs to be seen on TV
Lovely advert - perfect tone for the brand.
Darren - isn't that world cup fans, 1966?
The only thing they missed out was England winning the Rugby World Cup in 2003. Other than that it was spot on and certainly beter than watching Jonathan Warburton sitting in the cinema on his own.
HaHa do you all work for MCBD?
Ok then, nice advert but where does it mentions the 122 year history? The first point of reference most people see in that advert is the Titanic and therefore 1912, 96 years ago not 122 years ago. There is no mention of Hovis' 122 year history.
So who knows the advert is 122 seconds long? Only people who work in the industry it seems. Third problem, if that car of people are supposed to be celebrating the 1966 World Cup win, why do they have British flags? Britain didn't win, England did.
Whether it re-establishes Hovis as a legendary brand, remains to be seen.
Good to see you're focusing on the big picture there Jim. Brilliant ad, well done MCBD, one of the ads of the year.
At first i thought it was sentimental tosh ... and i still do. I guess that's what Hovis is playing to though
Fantastic commercial. Of course it's sentimental tosh, but then so was JR Hartley. Thank goodness someone still has the balls to make big beautiful TV ads. Well done Client and Agency for keeping the faith.
to Jim's point about union jacks at the world cup 1966 - do some research before you criticize in such a pompous way. that's what people waved in 1966. The George cross is a relatively recent development. In those days Britain and England were the same thing in the minds of fans. Anyway, well done MMCD, Hovis was built on sentimentality. I liked it.
St George's Cross is a recent development? What on earth are you talking about? It was first used to identify the English nearly 900 years ago.
Actually, Oliver is absolutely right. If you do your research, you'll find that during the 1966 World Cup celebrations, they used both the Union Jack and St. George's Cross in way of celebration - but mostly the former. From what I can tell, this ad is pretty bloody accurate in every detail, and brilliant work. Again, well done to all involved at MCBD.
Comments
Jeremy Lee - 12/09/2008
I quite like it
Lucy Barrett - 12/09/2008
I think it's brilliant
Gemma Charles - 12/09/2008
At first I thought it was sentimental tosh but it probably manages to pull it off - just.
Tom Weinberg - 12/09/2008
Bloody marvellous that.
Richard Warren - 12/09/2008
Superb. So simple, so obvious, so right.
Darian Watts - 13/09/2008
I thought this was excellent. Reminds me of a film I've seen.
Phylippa Levine - 13/09/2008
What a fantastic advert! I absolutely loved it!
Mark Turner - 13/09/2008
oustanding...really puts Hovis up a notch
Darren Davidson - 15/09/2008
I like the car full of Spurs fans. Brilliant ad as well.
Ricky Harewood - 15/09/2008
Perfect!! That's a brilliant ad.... definitely needs to be seen on TV
Sean Murricane - 15/09/2008
Lovely advert - perfect tone for the brand. Darren - isn't that world cup fans, 1966?
Jeremy Lee - 15/09/2008
The only thing they missed out was England winning the Rugby World Cup in 2003. Other than that it was spot on and certainly beter than watching Jonathan Warburton sitting in the cinema on his own.
ed boost - 15/09/2008
HaHa do you all work for MCBD?
Jim Jeffries - 15/09/2008
Ok then, nice advert but where does it mentions the 122 year history? The first point of reference most people see in that advert is the Titanic and therefore 1912, 96 years ago not 122 years ago. There is no mention of Hovis' 122 year history. So who knows the advert is 122 seconds long? Only people who work in the industry it seems. Third problem, if that car of people are supposed to be celebrating the 1966 World Cup win, why do they have British flags? Britain didn't win, England did. Whether it re-establishes Hovis as a legendary brand, remains to be seen.
Matt Edwards - 16/09/2008
Good to see you're focusing on the big picture there Jim. Brilliant ad, well done MCBD, one of the ads of the year.
Stuart Aplin - 16/09/2008
At first i thought it was sentimental tosh ... and i still do. I guess that's what Hovis is playing to though
David Clyde - 18/09/2008
Fantastic commercial. Of course it's sentimental tosh, but then so was JR Hartley. Thank goodness someone still has the balls to make big beautiful TV ads. Well done Client and Agency for keeping the faith.
oliver caporn - 19/09/2008
to Jim's point about union jacks at the world cup 1966 - do some research before you criticize in such a pompous way. that's what people waved in 1966. The George cross is a relatively recent development. In those days Britain and England were the same thing in the minds of fans. Anyway, well done MMCD, Hovis was built on sentimentality. I liked it.
jezwaspsrule - 19/09/2008
St George's Cross is a recent development? What on earth are you talking about? It was first used to identify the English nearly 900 years ago.
Mark James Taylor - 28/09/2008
Actually, Oliver is absolutely right. If you do your research, you'll find that during the 1966 World Cup celebrations, they used both the Union Jack and St. George's Cross in way of celebration - but mostly the former. From what I can tell, this ad is pretty bloody accurate in every detail, and brilliant work. Again, well done to all involved at MCBD.