This Great Western Railways (GWR) campaign from adam&eveDDB, London, again features The Famous Five–Julian, Dick, Anne and Georgina, along with their dog Timmy, straight from the children’s adventure novels written by English author Enid Blyton. Centerpiece of the campaign is this animated TV spot titled “Five and the Jetpack.”
The latest ad adventure starts when Uncle Quentin shows off his new 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 jumps 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.
Created in collaboration with studios Friends Electric and Partizan, the spot promotes GWR’s new timetable which has introduced faster journey times, a more frequent service, and better seating availability across their network.
Michael Gracey of Partizan directed “Five and the Jetpack, with animation production by Friends Electric and postproduction/VFX from Electric Theatre Collective.
Paul Billingsley, managing director at adam&eveDDB, noted, “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 storytelling.”
Credits
Client Great Western Railway Agency adam&eveDDB, London Ben Tollett, group executive creative director; Richard Brim, chief creative officer; Steve Wioland, Matt Woolner, creative directors/copywriters/art directors; Petrina Kilby, TV producer. Production Friends Electric Barney Richard, exec producer; Magda Krimitsou, Larisa Covaciu, producers; Patrick Correll, editorial. Production Partizan Michael Gracey, director; Jenny Beckett, Duncan Gaman, exec producers; Isabella Parish, producer. Animation Production Friends Electric Postproduction/VFX Electric Theatre Collective Neil Riley, VFX supervisor; Taran Spear, 2D artist; Stirling Archibald, Ludvig Hallenius, Tane Welham, Tomer Epshtein, CJ Gaikward, comp team; Steve Beck, Peter Baynton, lead animators; Tim Sanpher, Ludivine Berthouloux, Sim Marriott, Denise Dean, 2D animators; Conor Ryan, Edwin Leeds, Mack Knights, Roly Edwards, 3D animators; Patrick Krafft, Jordan Dunstall, Ryan Maddox, Sergio Morales, Nikolai Maderthoner, Gregory Martin, Stefan Brown, Piers Limberg, Stuart Turnbull, Adrian Lan Sun Lu, Zach Pindolia, Romain Thirion, 3D artists; Luke Morrison, colorist; Brian Estanislao, storyboard artist; Kristian Antonelli, character design. Matte Painting Painting Practice Rafael Martin Coronel, matte painter. Music Theodore Tom Stanford, music supervisor. Soundtrack “Milo’s Adventure,” Michael Patti, composer. Audio Post 750mph Sam Robson, mixer.
To celebrate the 200th birthday of Johann Strauss II, the Vienna Tourist Board is launching an intergalactic premiere. The “Waltz into Space” mission will send Strauss’s masterpiece “The Blue Danube” into deep space.
For decades, “The Blue Danube” has been considered the unofficial “Anthem of Space,” famously immortalized in Stanley Kubrick’s “2001: A Space Odyssey”. Yet, surprisingly, this iconic Waltz by the famous Viennese composer was not included on either of the Voyager Golden Records--a collection of humanity’s greatest achievements, including a selection of 27 songs, that was sent by NASA to reach potential extraterrestrial life back in 1977.
On May 31 2025, Vienna will be setting the record straight in a campaign by agency Jung von Matt DONAU that amplifies its reputation as the city of music. In collaboration with the “Wiener Symphoniker” (Vienna Symphony Orchestra) and the European Space Agency (ESA), “The Blue Danube” Waltz will be broadcast to the farthest reaches of the universe, creating a timeless musical bridge between humanity and potential extraterrestrial life.
“The Blue Danube”, performed by the “Wiener Symphoniker” in Vienna at a special concert at Vienna’s MAK Museum on May 31, will be digitized and transmitted via the European Space Agency’s deep space communication facilities at Cebreros, Spain. The signal will continue indefinitely, traveling at the speed of light, and will surpass Voyager 1 in about 23 hours and 3 minutes.
To create awareness ahead of the mission, Jung von Matt created this humorous film that speculates on why “The Blue Danube” was not included on the Voyager Golden Records. The story revolves around the mission director (played by Adam... Read More
