The Famous Five Go on Their Next Great Western Railways Adventure

adam&eveDDB is launching the next chapter of Great Western Railway’s campaign, featuring the Famous Five. The new TV spot ‘Five and the Jetpack’, directed by The Greatest Showman’s Michael Gracey, kicks off the campaign. 

adam&eveDDB’s campaign harks back to Enid Blyton’s original Famous Five narratives, with an adventure that starts when Uncle Quentin shows off his latest invention – a homemade jetpack. The jetpack doesn’t perform quite as it should, and when Uncle Quentin proudly presses the ignition button, he spirals out of control and into the sky. 

The adventurous quintet quickly jump on a high speed GWR train in a bid to follow him and save him from whatever danger he may be in. From inside the train, they spot Uncle Quentin hanging off a distant castle, and in a race against time they speed through the stunning countryside, straight past queuing traffic, and catch him just before he falls. 

The integrated campaign, created in collaboration with Friends Electric and Partizan, celebrates GWR’s new timetable which has introduced faster journey times, a more frequent service, and better seating availability across their network. 

This is the third instalment of the adventures embarked on by Julian, George, Dick, Anne, and Timmy the dog that adam&eveDDB has created for GWR. After three years of significant changes to GWR’s business, the launch of their new timetable is an important milestone in their ongoing vision to re-value rail in the hearts and minds of the travelling public. 

Paul Billingsley, managing director at adam&eveDDB says: “We couldn’t be more proud to launch the latest chapter of this much-loved campaign. It’s our third consecutive year of Famous Five work for GWR, and stands as testament to the power of pairing consistently distinctive brand assets with beautifully crafted story-telling.”

Amanda Burns, head of marketing and sales at GWR says: “It’s always been our ambition to produce distinctive advertising that stands out in a crowded travel market.  This new adventure enables GWR to promote the benefits of our transformation in an engaging and spirited way, inspiring a better way to travel to so many wonderful destinations on our network.”