This Insurance Provider Spotlit Small Business Owners with a Series of Mini-Musicals

The Oscars is a celebration of Hollywood’s best and brightest talents. However this year, global insurance company Hiscox chose to roll out a red carpet of its own and shine a spotlight on the millions of small business owners and entrepreneurs operating in the US today. 

Created in partnership with independent ad agency Terri & Sandy, and directed by Freddie Powell through DROOL Productions, the “mixed media masterpieces” were brought to life thanks to a team of small businesses and artisan creators. Fully embracing the spirit of the campaign, production took place in Bangkok, Thailand, bringing together creative minds from around the world. 

Soundtracked to the iconic Irving Berlin showtune, ‘There’s No Business Like Show Business’, the ‘Annie Get Your Gun’ classic was reimagined to become ‘There’s No Business Like Small Business’, with its lyrics conveying the highs and lows of entrepreneurship. 

Two films from the year-long campaign have rolled out so far, set within the charmingly colourful storybook-like town of Hiscox, which is home to an array of small businesses – from an accountancy firm to a photography studio. As each mini-musical unfurls, showcasing an array of choreography that’s tailored to each profession, puppetry, stop motion animation and a Buzz Lightyear inspired Hiscox hero, we’re reminded of the time, effort and dedication that goes into running a small business. 

So, to find out more about the campaign, its “home-made by the underdog” feel, and the significance of bringing small business together, LBB’s Abi Lightfoot caught up with Mike Cicale, group creative director at Terri & Sandy, and Freddie Powell, director at DROOL productions.

             

LBB> What was the brief from Hiscox, and how did you initially respond?

Mike> Hiscox prides itself on seeing the people behind the policies. The brief was to bring that to life, to celebrate small business owners, and to introduce them to the one insurance company that shares their passion.

LBB> With the first spot airing on Oscars Night, the adaptation of the song ‘There’s No Business Like Show Business’ feels incredibly apt! So it would be great to learn more about the process of securing the rights to, and adapting this classic show tune?

Mike> We partnered with Mayflower Entertainment to secure the licensing agreement with UMPG and the Irving Berlin Estate. The team made the process of working with the publishers seamless as we worked through the adaptation of the song.

LBB> The campaign rolls out the red carpet for the millions of small businesses operating in the US, how did you go about selecting the types of business and business owners to showcase in this campaign?

Mike> We chose small businesses that are both instantly recognisable and capable of exuding whimsy and charm. That’s why the campaign’s first two spots highlight a photographer and an accountant – two types of entrepreneurs full of iconic ‘tools of the trade’ to serve as set dressing for our mini-musicals.

The best way to celebrate small business owners is to be a small business customer. We couldn’t be prouder that so many different small businesses contributed to this project. 

LBB> And why were director Freddie Powell and production company DROOL Productions the perfect choice to bring the campaign to life?

Mike> Freddie and the rest of the team at DROOL were absolutely brilliant. They took our core idea and blew it up to playfully epic proportions, transforming our stage musicals into mixed media masterpieces. 

One of the highlights of the production was watching Freddie climb up on a ladder and literally act out the over-the-top movements of our Hiscox fella for our puppeteers to replicate.

LBB> Freddie, you said that after seeing the script, you were drawn to the “project’s incredible charm”, how did you ensure that this ‘charm’ was conveyed in the final spots?

Freddie> In a world of huge corporations producing overly glossy ads, I tried to make ours feel ‘home-made by the underdog’, but still beautifully assembled and timed out. Sometimes campaigns feel like they’re created by committee and killed by a thousand cuts. But the agency and client believed in the overall vision I laid out and were the perfect balance of a light but firm touch.

LBB> The films seamlessly blend stop motion animation with live action performance. How did you achieve this on camera, and what were the biggest challenges you had to overcome?

Freddie> It needed a lot of pre-planning. The stop motion was shot on green screen, and Olan (DoP) matched the lighting. There was a bit of noodling with parallax and lighting direction, but it was pre-planned out so we weren’t burning shoot time.

Easily the biggest challenge was making the whole thing flow like clockwork with the added complication of lip-sync. I knew from the start we would have to get the music totally buttoned down and approved ahead of the shoot, and then start building a ruthlessly timed out animatic. We had Tiffany Whitney Chang on set editing, cutting and advising live! She went with me EVERYWHERE and we were dropping the latest test shots into timed out ‘crap-imatics’.

LBB> With a strong jawline and reassuring demeanour, how did you set about crafting the Hiscox spokes-puppet who swoops in to save the day when things begin to go wrong?

Freddie> You know what? The client and I didn’t quite see eye to eye about what his character should be. I wanted a plucky, dweeby underdog – they wanted a strong, reliable spokesperson (understandably). But Terri & Sandy is a brilliant agency and helped us all find a character we felt excited about. The secret North Star we were aiming for was Buzz Lightyear!

LBB> The use of vibrant colours is incredibly striking, what was the creative intention behind this?

Freddie> I think we all wanted it to feel like a vibrant celebration of small business. So, I threw together some curated colour palettes for each world, we folded in a dash of ‘Hiscox red’, and then left it in the capable hands of colourist Tim Masick at Company 3 to craft the final grade.

LBB> This campaign is so smooth, can you tell us what your vision for the dance sequences were, and how you brought them together?

Freddie> We were trying to fit a LOT into the 30 seconds, so I was just obsessed with making sure the whole thing felt butter-smooth and that it flowed. I wanted the camera and edit to be the ‘dance’ – beautiful, well-oiled edits that suck you in better than an edgy dance move. In fact I tried my best to make the moves feel sort of lame. Like the accountants on the desk are doing a dumb ‘crab’ dance but it’s perfectly in time.

 

LBB> Finally, what was your vision at the outset of the project, and to what extent does it align with the finished films?

Mike> We set out to put small business owners centre stage. In our humble opinion, these spots just nailed it, all thanks to the myriad of artists and artisans who poured their time and talent into every frame. 

Freddie> I put every emotional ounce I had into establishing myself as a director and putting DROOL on the map. It takes heart and craft to set up a small business. That’s what I saw in the idea, and that’s what I endeavoured to put on the screen.

I feel proud of these two films. I rarely say that about my own work, but I think it was assembled and created by a bunch of makers, creators and actors who really cared. And I think it shows in the final spots.