FREENOW, Europe’s Mobility Super app, is being relaunched with a complete brand redesign in a through-the-line pan-European campaign, both developed by BMB. This is the first brand work by the creative agency to appear since winning the business in March last year.
FREENOW provides multi-mobility services in a single app including taxis, private hire vehicles, car sharing, public transport services, e-mopeds, e-bikes and e-scooters.
BMB has created a new creative platform, called "Feel FREENOW" to support this positioning. Tapping into the insight that go-getting cityholics want to experience all the exciting moments and connections that the city has to offer, without having to waste time thinking about how to get there.
This hero film, “Free City” (the :60 U.K. version) brings the idea to life. As FREENOW is available in many cities across Europe, BMB opted to set the film in its own world–a spectacular spinning zoetrope model, packed with vibrant, abstract representations of urban life that are instantly relatable, regardless of where the viewer comes from.
“Free City” depicts a world where the inhabitants are stuck in a repetitive loop. The focus of the narrative is on our heroine, a woman who is roused from her loop by a notification on her phone, before going on a journey across the city, taking in all that it has to offer using a variety of FREENOW modes of transport.
Directed by Dean Robinson, the “Free City” film concludes with the brand endline and an endframe detailing the transport modes available in each country, alongside a simple articulation of FREENOW’s service: “Feel FREENOW. One app – more ways to travel.”
The Electric Theatre Collective worked with BMB on the film. The zoetrope, which first appeared in 1934, has been used variously in film, experiential installations and music videos–but the FREENOW film is the first advertisement using the animation technique created entirely in CGI. With a stop-motion animation aesthetic, 3D body scans of actors cast for the film are the digital characters featured in the film’s world.
The campaign first hit in Ireland this past week, slated to make its U.K. debut in April on ITV and Channel 4. The campaign will roll out through other European markets including Germany, Spain, Italy, Poland and Greece in the following months–with local teams adapting the assets to suit their local market offering.
Client FREENOW Agency BMB, London Matt Lever, chief creative officer; Will Marsden, Jordan Down, creative directors; Jack Snell, Joe Lovett, creators; David Bain, chief strategy officer; Ted Smith, head of design; Sam Peele, designer; Sofi Andersson, Elena Frischknecht, creative producers; Pete Thornton, Clancie Brennan, TV producer. Production Electric Studios Dean Robinson, film director; Alasdair Patrick, production producer; Tasha Beddoe, production coordinator. VFX/Post Electric Theatre Collective Connor Coolbear, colorist; David Filipe, Fabrice Fireni, Tobin Brett, VFX supervisors; Jack Powell, Will Medcalf, Matteo La Motta, Scott Ryan, Nikolai Maderthoner, VFX leads; Adrian Teoh, Alberto Pizzocchero, Alex Snookes, Amy Smith, Arthur Ranson, Aurelien Ronceray-Peslin, Bibin Panackal, Charlie Humphrey, Christian Block, Constantin Von Zitzewitz, David Filipe, Elliott Holland-Crouch, Florian Mounie, Fred Austin, George Gough, Gererd Murphy, Gianluca Fratellini, Han Park, Hendrik Freuer, Iain Murray, Jack Powell, Jochem Aarts, Joseph Allerton, Joseph Dowling, Ogi Vukovic, Oliver Metz, Patrick Krafft, Rich Roberts, Robert Reinsched, Rodrigo Torres, Sarah Crux, Tom Harrison, Ulysses Popple, Yousef Grierson, Ysabel King, Zach Pindolia, VFX artists. Media The7Stars (UK)
Top Spot of the Week: Samsung, BBH Singapore, Director Rhys Thomas Get Fit For A Surf Holiday
Samsung’s new global campaign from BBH Singapore, featuring Samsung Health and Galaxy AI, tells the story of a young professional couple who compete to get fit for a surf holiday.
Titled “A Samsung Health Story: Racing to Fiji,” this film taps into Gen Z’s wellness dilemma and the fact that they can often find health information overwhelming; in particular, BBH Singapore took inspiration from young people who reference their “quarter life crisis” on social media. This film tells the story of Stacey and Steve who decide to go surfing in Fiji, something they did five years ago but haven’t done since they started their jobs. However, there’s one problem: they need to get fitter first.
Featuring a range of Galaxy products powered by Galaxy AI, they rebuild their fitness to prepare for the trip, competing playfully to spur each other on. We see them comparing their Energy Scores (a new feature on the Samsung Health app), recording their runs and swims on their Samsung Galaxy Watches, trying and failing to get fit at work and on their commutes and striving to improve in the run up to the trip. When they get there, however, there’s a fun twist, and the film ends on a cliffhanger.
The ad is expected to be the first in a series, which will develop the characters and their “world” in future episodes. This longform (two-and-a-half-minute) version of the spot delves deeper into the storytelling, in a fresh approach for Samsung’s product campaigns, while the shorter edits focus on driving exposure to specific features.
BBH Singapore also leaned into the entertainment aspect of the spot; it was directed by comedic specialist Rhys Thomas at Stink Films, who has a major TV background. Best known for his work on Saturday Night... Read More