AO.com's Got Talent in New Idents from The Mob Film Co

AO.com revealed its brand new Britain’s Got Talent sponsorship idents on Saturday 15th April, on the launch of the eleventh series of the hit ITV show. Filmed over three days in Manchester, with the help of The Mob Film Co, the idents aim to reflect AO.com’s brand personality and even feature some past Britain’s Got Talent acts. 

Commenting on the project, Director of Brand at AO.com, Andy O’Brien said, “This was an ambitious and exciting project for us as a brand. To be able to portray who we are in a slick, smart way with only ten seconds to spare was a real challenge. Thanks to an intense creative process and fantastic cast and crew, we’ve been able to produce an impressive number of great quality idents that we’re hoping will really make people smile.”

The aim was to align the idents as closely as possible with the show that viewers know and love. To give the audience something to look forward to, the team enlisted the help of some past Britain’s Got Talents acts - dance troupe, Old Men Grooving, who donned their signature knitted cardigans and slacks to bust-a-move on the perfectly polished set floor; Lucy and Trip Hazard, the duo made up of the adorable Maltese-Pomeranian dog Trip Hazard and his trainer Lucy , and ventriloquist, Steve Hewlett complete with dummy, Arthur Lager.

In addition to this, a number of talented featured artists were cast across London & Manchester by Lee Mountjoy Casting to showcase their skills in the sponsorship idents. These include a magician, a contortionist, a strong man, a mime artist, multiple dance troupes and synchronised swimmers. AO.com also gave some of its employees the chance to feature alongside the artists. Staff members from AO.com’s HQ in Bolton, its main distribution centre in Crewe and its support centre in Manchester auditioned for the chance to appear in starring and supporting roles as the AO crew.

Director of Production at The Mob, Mark Collins said, “AO.com came to us with the exciting brief of bringing the brand’s personality to life, within the unique setting of the AO.com Green Room. Our aim was to collaborate and capture the spirit of the business in a creative way, while staying true to Britain’s Got Talent’s core identity. The shoot was of a huge scale and often felt like our own mini version of Britain’s Got Talent!  AO.com is a really fun brand and we definitely felt we captured that on set.”   

The suite of idents, captured on Arri ALEXA SXT 4K cameras, were written and directed by award-winning director, Sarah O’Gorman whose recent work includes the recent hit Channel 4 comedy drama, No Offence. Working alongside Sarah was the Director of Photography, renowned cinematographer, Adam Suschitzky whose previous works includes TV mini-series 11.22.63, Vera, the Bletchley Circle and more recently the Netflix hit, Designated Survivor. Sarah’s natural talent for comedic timing for both commercials and drama allowed her to bring AO.com’s idents to life with genuine, light-hearted humour, while Adam’s expertise really captured the richness and grandeur of the set onscreen. 

AO.com and The Mob filmed the new idents at The Space project, which was transformed into the elaborate back drop of the AO.com Green room, complete with a working juice bar, a full Hollywood-style dressing area, a vast array of props and a giant, green AO.com neon for good measure.

A dedicated art department were also on set after weeks of design and planning to create, by hand, key props such as the elaborately decorated contortionist’s box and an extremely detailed human-sized Russian doll. Fans online will be able to get a feel for how it all came together through exciting backstage action and exclusive interviews hosted by Capital FM Radio DJ, Will Manning.