B&Q's Emotive Stop Motion Spot Tells a Touching Tale of Home Transformation

B&Q & Uncommon launch a new integrated campaign from the reinvigorated brand proposition ‘Build a Life’ — which celebrates the belief that anyone can improve their home to make life better. The third instalment, entitled ‘Choose Change’, is an invitation to avoid settling and standing still — and instead embrace the life affirming act of change in all its energetic, joyful, and sometimes messy glory.

The campaign aims to provoke acts of change at home — big and small — in full recognition that a nail is never just a nail, it’s the start of something far bigger. Improving our homes has the power to improve the lives of our loved ones and ourselves too. This new campaign focuses on home interiors, championing B&Q’s unrivalled range of paints, flooring, tiles, wallpaper, lighting and furniture — which allow us to create a space that reflects our lives.

To launch ‘Choose Change’, Uncommon creates a heart warming film: ‘Later Means Never’ — telling a story about choosing change in even the darkest of moments and the power family holds in moving us forward.

We open to see our first animated character on screen: Nigel — a single Dad in a slump — he loves his family, but along the way has lost his mojo. Nigel’s sadness has cast a spell over his home, creating a scene paused in time; we see him trapped in his armchair by a layer of dust and rock. His home environment also reflects his state of mind, having become a cavernous space that no longer resembles a happy home.

A drip of water awakens Nigel from his slouch, the scuff of the carpet nudging him playfully to get up out of his chair and as the plaster starts to crack on the walls around him — we see Nigel’s daughter Lisa and their Dog Gus trapped beneath a layer of rock too. The voiceover reads: ‘If this settles one more inch, it might weigh us down for good.’ The film is narrated by renowned Scottish actor Rory McCann, who has previously featured in the ‘Build a Life’ film campaign.

Nigel glances at an old family photo illuminating from the darkness that cascades around him — this memory from happier times sparks a sense of resilience within, to not give up and believe it’s never too late to make a change. The house starts to call out and offer encouragement to Nigel, with wallpaper peeling, wires untangling and floorboard twisting.

As Nigel starts to break free from the dust and pull himself up the walls begin to return to life with bright warming colours. But then suddenly, we see Nigel land heavily back into his seat and fall through the floorboards into a deeper dark hole, this time he looks to have given up hope for good. From above, we hear Gus bark and see Lisa holding out her hand for support — this acts as the final trigger of encouragement Nigel needs to free himself from the rubble once and for all.

As the music lifts, Nigel rises with help from the house coming together to rocket him back up to his family. Through Nigel’s efforts, the house magically transforms into a bright space — a home his family can be proud of. Gus shakes the last remaining dust from his fur and Nigel and Lisa chuckle.

Chris Graham, marketing director, B&Q said: “The past 18 months have been a period of change like no other — turbulent and often out of our control. We believe now is the time to inspire our customers to take charge of the positive changes they can make to their homes. Our new campaign celebrates B&Q’s uniquely broad interiors range — a range that enables customers to make the changes that are right for them. When you ‘choose change’ and improve your space with B&Q, you are doing more than fixing a space, you’re creating a space that’s uniquely yours.”

Tobey Duncan, head of planning, Uncommon added: “We’re really proud to bring to life the third instalment from the Build a Life platform — it has never been defined by look or character but has always been underpinned by the powerful sentiment that anyone can improve their home to make life better. The latest work really champions positive change — but this time moving inside the home to our interior spaces. Change is progress but it doesn’t just happen — it’s something you have to self-author.”

The film adopts traditional stop motion — a process which involves artfully manipulating puppets and objects frame by frame to create a sense of fluid motion. The characters were traditional silicone puppets — each sculpted by hand, cast in silicone, hand painted and finally brought to life by the animators one frame at a time. The work was directed by mixed media filmmaker Sam Gainsborough through London animation studio Blinkink.

Sam Gainsborough, director, Blinkink concluded: “I loved the original script, it was grippingly unusual and knew it could make a delightful and peculiar film. I’m inspired by traditional animation techniques that let the materials and textures show off their natural beauty. Stop-motion felt like the perfect way to bring this story to life, as we could really feel the cracking plaster, the dripping paint and unravelling wallpaper. DIY is all about getting your hands dirty, and hand crafted stop motion has an innate roughness to it that is in keeping with this ethos.”

The nostalgic style is reminiscent of many British animation classics that tell a heartfelt tale through revealing a disruptive and relatable human truth. The film involved meticulous craft at every stage of production from hundreds of drawings to develop each character to puppet making every movement and curated set design. The living room was modelled on B&Q’s interiors range, replicating every exact piece in miniature form. The cave structure was carved from foam, the cracking floor of the set was built from a thick layer of plasticine and the magical tower was made from hundreds of handmade miniature DIY tools.

As well as the film, the integrated campaign includes powerful visuals to motivate and inspire change. In addition the campaign is supported by an influencer series titled “Changemakers” — featuring individuals who are transforming their own homes, with content to inspire their audience to also choose change.

The film will run across TV, Cinema, Online and VOD from 23rd September. The campaign will also be supported by an extensive print, outdoor and digital suite running later in the month. Stay tuned.