Thinkbox Moves Into Alien Territory

Aliens will suddenly appear on TV across the UK on Boxing Day to announce that they are coming to Earth in the latest Thinkbox TV ad. 

Created by Red Brick Road and directed by Blink's The Bobbsey Twins from Homicide, The Broadcast will premiere on UK broadcast TV on Boxing Day but is available to watch online from today [21 December]. 

The ad is a tongue-in-cheek homage to classic sci-fi films featuring a warlike-looking alien addressing the people of Earth via a live TV link. His sudden appearance on TV screens everywhere, repeating the message “Oola Oola Zod”, galvanises the world into a range of responses.

The ad will appear in special ad breaks on Boxing Day that mirror the ad’s story and extend the narrative across the whole break. Thinkbox, through Mediacom, has collaborated with the brands DFS, Lucozade and Sheba to create one-off versions of their TV ads which are mysteriously interrupted by messages from the incoming extra-terrestrials trying to make contact with Earth.

Throughout the storytelling ad break, as the aliens get closer, their message gets clearer, culminating with the Thinkbox 60-second ad making its broadcast debut. The idea behind this collaboration is to create intrigue throughout the break, and provide viewers with a ‘penny drop’ moment at its end as they see the alien story revealed.

“Following the retirement of the star of Thinkbox’s previous TV ads [Harvey the dog]," explains Andrew MacGillivray, marketing director at Thinkbox, "we wanted to do something completely different in style and tone: something that entertains viewers, stands out in the ad break, and clearly shows the power of TV advertising.We believe this new TV ad brings to life the scale, cultural reach, impact and synchronicity of TV advertising. It shows that if you want to speak to the whole nation at the same time and have a genuine impact, then you use TV. Aliens are optional.”

The creative media breaks will take place during Captain Phillips on ITV, Big Fat Quiz of the Year on Channel 4, Love Actually on ITV2, Game of Thrones on Sky Atlantic, Conviction on Sky Living and Transformers on Sky One.