T-Mobile gets regal with latest ‘Kate and Wills Wedding’ web film via Saatchi & Saatchi, London

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Screen shot 2011-04-17 at 8.12.30 PM.jpgSaatchi & Saatchi, London’s ‘celebratory Royal wedding dance’ featuring Kate and Wills and the rest of the Royal family’ for T-Mobile is set to become a YouTube hit, with over 2,500,000 views since Friday.

The 2 minute film clip features 15 royal lookalikes who have been selected to match actual members of the Royal family known to be attending Kate & Wills’ big day. It is the fourth chapter in T-Mobile’s “Life’s For Sharing‟ brand campaign.

Inspired by the growing trend of online wedding dance videos and in what is the first move of its kind from the brand, the film is being released exclusively online. Previous ads from T-Mobile, which have won awards across the globe, have become among the most watched  in the world, viewed online by over 50 million people.

Screen shot 2011-04-17 at 8.11.16 PM.jpgWelcome Back, which was shot in Heathrow last year, recently scooped the accolade of best TV commercial of the year at the British Arrows Awards. It sees T-Mobile win the award for the second year running.

Says Spencer McHugh, director of brand at T-Mobile: “T-Mobile is famous for creating adverts that are entertaining and also give people something they want to share with others. We’re seeing the trend for people to video choreographed wedding dances turning into a real online phenomenon across the globe and with Royal wedding fever sweeping the nation we decided to combine the two and create T-mobile’s very own version. It’s a congratulatory message to William and Kate, as well as a way of capturing the nation‟s mood of celebration and jubilation in true T-mobile style and in a digital format that will allow people to share it with their family, friends and online communities immediately.”

Developed by T-Mobile‟s ad agency, Saatchi & Saatchi, the 2 minute film clip, titled The T – Mobile Royal Wedding, features 15 royal lookalikes who have been selected to match actual members of the Royal family known to be attending Kate & Wills‟ big day.

Screen shot 2011-04-17 at 8.12.37 PM.jpgThe members of the royal wedding party dance their way down the aisle in front of a packed congregation in a routine choreographed to the 1990s top ten track House of Love by East 17.

Lookalikes were handpicked from hundreds of hopefuls across the country to ensure the closest match and Kate is featured in a dress made by designer to the stars, Elie Saab.

In keeping with previous T-Mobile ads, the footage captures the reaction of members of the public and T-Mobile staff who are among the 130 wedding guests featured in the ad. Invited to the church by T-Mobile, the guests were selected from hundreds of applications received by the brand after it posted an invite on its Facebook page for fans to take part in its next ad.

The ad was filmed in secret at St Bartholomew Church in London, which has been featured in numerous films including Four Weddings and A Funeral and Shakespeare in Love. In keeping with the myriad online wedding dance videos, the footage was deliberately shot from a single camera positioned within the audience to give an amateurish quality to the final edit. Shot on Tuesday, the footage was captured and edited in under 48 hours before being released exclusively online through T-Mobile‟s YouTube and Facebook channels.

Says Paul Silburn, creative partner, Saatchi & Saatchi, London: “We wanted to capitalise on the excitement around the royal wedding. It’s the ultimate Life’s for Sharing moment of the year.”

A teaser video posted by the brand on Tuesday morning had received 170,000 views within 24 hours.

Adds McHugh: “We think we‟ve tapped into the feeling of the nation with something that can’t help but raise a smile and something that people will want to share immediately, which is why we’re launching this ad online.”

T-Mobile has become famous for its previous award winning guerrilla style advertisements, which now world renowned, were designed by the mobile network to create moments worth sharing. Its ‘Welcome Back’ ad in October last year saw the brand make history when it organised the first ever flashmob at a UK airport. Earlier ads include ‘Dance’ in January 2009 that showed dancers spontaneously break into a routine at London’s Liverpool Street station and ‘Sing’, filmed in May 2009, which saw popstar Pink lead thousands of people in a karaoke singalong in Trafalgar Square.

TITLE: The T-Mobile Wedding

CLIENT: Spencer McHugh – Brand Marketing Director Everything Everywhere Kelly Engstrom – Senior Advertising Manager T-Mobile

ADVERTISING AGENCY: Saatchi & Saatchi, London

CREATIVE DIRECTOR: Paul Silburn

CREATIVE: Lovisa Almgren-Falken 

COPYWRITER: Paul Silburn

ART DIRECTOR: Lovisa Almgren-Falken

ACCOUNT HANDLERS: Laura Mills, Sarah Campbell, Charles Pym

PRODUCER: James Faupel 

PRODUCTION COMPANY: Gorgeous

DIRECTOR: Chris Palmer

EDITOR: Paul Watts @ The Quarry

PRODUCER: Michaela Johnson

POST-PRODUCTION COMPANY: The Mill

AUDIO POST-PRODUCTION COMPANY: Ben Leeves @ Grand Central

MEDIA BUYING AGENCY: Mediacom

MEDIA PLANNER: Anna Berry