Freeview Play: Crack Open The Good Biscuits

Freeview has launched a new TV ad campaign to celebrate its extensive range of quality programming available to watch for free. With its first broadcast during The Great British Bake Off on Tuesday 26th October, Freeview’s flagship TVC introduces two hilarious, loveable Alien characters to our screens. The Queen is on the brink of invading Earth when her trusty, long-suffering assistant, Colin, interrupts, having picked up some Freeview channels on the spaceship TV. The duo curiously tries to decipher the premise of a variety of ‘human’ shows, becoming increasingly enthralled by the delights of Earth TV, and eventually abandoning the enslavement in favour of cracking open the Good Biscuits and settling in for an episode or two. The ad concept was created by Anomaly and brought to life by the puppeteering masters at Blinkink Productions. Their process was manifold, taking the Queen and Colin through the stages of clay maquettes, hand puppets, 3D digital sculpts, and finally to remote-controlled animatronic faces with fabricated bodies and tailor-made costumes. Award-winning actors Samantha Spiro (Sex Education, Ridley Road) and Jamie Demetriou (Stath Lets Flats, Fleabag) were cast to voice the Queen and Colin, bringing unrivalled comic expertise to the roles. After introducing Colin and The Queen in the 60-second launch ad, the campaign will then be adapted to hero the biggest shows of the moment, as part of a reactive series of 30-second cuts which will also feature content from the likes of Prime and NOW. Viewers can therefore expect to see them regularly popping up in owned and digital channels as well as partner retail environments.