Behind Specsavers’ Fizzing, Squelching, Popping Audiology Services Campaign
This week, Specsavers unveiled phase two of its ‘Lost & Found’ campaign, highlighting its specialist audiology services, by focusing on the joy of rediscovering ordinary sounds.
Created by Specsavers Creative in collaboration with Rogue Films director Simon Ratigan, the campaign includes a TV, VOD and cinema ad, as well as developing the idea further in outdoor, press and digital.
The TV ad sees a range of characters stopping to enjoy the sounds they are finally able to hear again. A woman, repeatedly stomping in a muddy puddle to relish the sounds of her squelching wellies; a bus driver, excitedly opening and closing the bus doors while others observe confused; the satisfying ‘glug’ and ‘fizz’ of a lemonade bottle; and fresh vinyl on the player.
For outdoor, the campaign was integrated using a range of onomatopoeic words and phrases representing sounds from our daily lives - such as ‘tst’ written out 65 times on a billboard to represent a sprinkler sound.
Bertie Rapkin and Jon Morgan, creatives at The Agency, Specsavers, told LBB’s Zoe Antonov about the risks of creating an ad with no script, the genius OOH copywriting and why hearing loss can affect anybody.
LBB> What was the initial brief for the campaign and what did the ideation process look like?
Bertie and Jon> One of the main things in the brief was to make the point that everyone's hearing is different. People may notice that over time, they start to lose certain sounds. And the sounds people lose can be really different. We thought that this was a great opportunity to celebrate all the ordinary sounds that surround us everyday, which are actually pretty amazing when you think about it. And we wanted to do something that avoided all the usual hearing ad cliches and really stood out in the category. We spent a lot of time thinking about all the little sounds that you take for granted and for the out-of-home, we came up with a way of describing them onomatopoeically. Once we'd written a couple, we knew we were onto something.
LBB> Why did you decide to omit any dialogue in the campaign - was that a risky decision?
Bertie and Jon> Ad breaks are usually pretty loud and frenetic, as brands compete with each other for your attention. So we thought that the simplest way to stand out was to have no dialogue at all, no music and no voiceover, and to just focus on the beauty of ordinary, everyday sounds. We thought it would be fun to tap into the ASMR trend that's been around for a few years. When we first wrote the script, we had the idea of only using titles, rather than a voiceover. It was a bit of a nod to the confidence and simplicity of classic ads by the likes of VW, that don't have a voiceover and just end with a title. The moment we showed the clients the title-only edit, they immediately loved it. And fortunately, they were able to sell it further up the line! We don't think it's a risk - if you're standing in the kitchen and you overhear a TV ad with bus doors continually opening and closing, then it's probably going to get your attention more than an ad with wall-to-wall dialogue.
LBB> Once you made that decision, how did you pick the sounds you would show in the TVC and why did you stop on these few ones?
Bertie and Jon> We wanted to avoid cliched sounds like birdsong, and instead focus on more ordinary, everyday sounds. But they still had to be pleasant and enjoyable. We also wanted to use sounds that people create themselves (like squelching in mud), as this means they can do it repetitively, which was important to make the script work. And we needed scenarios (like the bus) where people can observe what's going on and react in a slightly bemused way. Fortunately, there are plenty of sounds to choose from! In terms of the number, we always knew the ad was going to be 30 seconds. We wanted to luxuriate in the sounds a bit, rather than cramming too many in. So we kept it to five sounds, which seemed to work pretty well.
LBB> What was the casting for the campaign like and what type of person were you looking for?
Bertie and Jon> Getting the casting right is always crucial. With this ad, whilst we wanted it to be humorous, we didn't want the comedy to be too over the top. And we wanted it to feel as real as possible. Fortunately we worked with a great director, Simon Ratigan, and some very talented actors who were able to get exactly the level of performance we were after.
LBB> Why do you believe comedy was the right way to go about this?
Bertie and Jon> Obviously, Specsavers is known and loved for its humour. So it's important to get a certain amount of charm and wit across in any campaign for the brand. But hearing loss is a sensitive subject, so we had to use humour in quite a subtle way. The actors gave us some fantastic reactions, particularly in the bus scene, so we had lots of great material to work with in the edit.
LBB> How did you make sure the sounds were so crisp and satisfying for viewers? What did it take to create them?
Bertie and Jon> We were lucky enough to work with the legendary sound engineer, Phil Bolland at Sine Audio. The sound mix is made up of lots of layers, including live sound from the shoot, library sound effects and foley sounds that Phil and his team created in the studio. We went through dozens of fizzy drinks bottles to achieve the exact glug and fizz we were looking for!
LBB> There were quite a few locations in the TVC - how did you pick them and did it take a long time to set them up?
Bertie and Jon> The locations were really dictated by the sounds, and the set-up that took the longest was probably the camping scene. That was because we had to hang around until twilight, and then we only had the 'golden hour' to get all the shots we wanted. We shot the mud squelching scene on one of the hottest days of the year, so the art department had to spend quite a bit of time creating a large muddy puddle for us. Thanks guys!
LBB> What was the most fun part of creating the TV ad?
Bertie and Jon> The writing process for a script like this is always fun. It's hilarious trying to think of scenarios where there's a funny, everyday sound that someone creates themselves, but take place in situations where we can get some amusing reactions from the people around them. Simon Ratigan, the director, and Tim Nunn, the executive producer, were also great fun to work with, which always helps.
LBB> The OOH assets are totally genius - again, how did you pick the sounds that you'd 'write out'?
Bertie and Jon> Thank you! For OOH, we needed a really quick expression of the idea that would grab people's attention. We love the onomatopoeic words you see in comic books (WHAM!, Splat, Kapow, etc.) and thought it would be fun to apply this thinking to everyday sounds. Then it was about finding satisfying sounds that are not only universally appreciated, but also sounds that we could bring to life in new, onomatopoeic words and phrases.
LBB> Was there a lot of deliberation on how you'd write out the sounds and if so, were there any funny moments?
Bertie and Jon> Obviously the two of us spent a bit of time crafting the headlines to make them engaging and easy to understand. And actually, most of the headlines stayed exactly the same from the first time we wrote them. But we fully expect and hope that people will disagree with our versions and think of other ways to describe the sounds. As long as it's getting people to think about the joy of ordinary sounds, then our job is done. One thing's for sure - performing the melancholic call of a wood pigeon in front of multiple clients and media partners is something we'll be chuckling about for a while.
LBB> What has the public reaction been to the campaign so far?
Bertie and Jon> Obviously it's early days but so far, there's been a really warm reaction to the campaign in the industry and on social media, which is great. The TV ad tested really well, and on par with some of our best ads, so hopefully people will enjoy it!
LBB> How do you believe Specsavers' positioning is shifting the narrative around healthcare marketing in the UK and more broadly, and what is there to be learned from that?
Bertie and Jon> Specsavers believe that eye and hearing care is for everyone. So it’s important that our campaigns feel like they're for everyone, too. We want people to really think about their eyes and their ears, and how to look after them. This is particularly important for hearing loss, because people think it's only something that happens later in life. But it can actually start at around 50, or even younger, and many people take years to accept that they have a problem. This can be really isolating and cause issues further down the line, so we think it's really important to normalise hearing loss so we can encourage people to seek help more quickly.
LBB> Any final thoughts?
Bertie and Jon> We just wanted to give a shout out to our great clients on this campaign. Anyone that signs off an ad where the headline is just the word 'tst' repeated 65 times ('Sprinkler') deserves some credit!
