Brand Britain: building the Britain you want, idea by idea

From Shakespeare to EastEnders' Big Mo, Britain is an ever-evolving concept, and our industry has a role in shaping it, says SHOOK’s Gemma Moroney.

Whimsy, insider jokes, silliness, or just plain weirdness. All solid British qualities. 

They may not feature on any citizenship test and certainly aren’t written in any constitution (‘cos we haven’t got one). But they are some of the things we are absolutely world-class at, along with queuing, complaining and talking about the rain heatwave.

And that’s why I’ve been glad to see a spate of campaigns that [I think] could only have been made in Britain rear their lion’s head. That, and the fact Tom Hall suggested I write about some. I’m talking:

Laila Morse x Reebok

In the Summer that The Streets toured ‘A Grand Don’t Come For Free’ for the first time, EastEnders’ iconic Big Mo put on her classics and had a little dance (for hopefully more than a grand). 

This was Grime Gran x Burberry for the original pirates. An idea that would only work in Britain, and maybe those weird bits of America where they watch BritBox, it brought two icons together in a move only topped by SuBo for Magnum.

KFChicken Wine

From the Platty Joobs to the Cozzie Livs , Britain’s ability to give something a nickname is rivalled only by Australians. Reddit throws up further corkers, like Levi (‘cos he’s out the door at 5:01) or Bungalow (‘Nothing upstairs’). And thus: Chicken Wine follows in this great tradition. If we knew what its real name was, we probably couldn’t pronounce it anyway. But that doesn’t stop this elite-level entente cordiale of brands.

More on this one from Stunt Watch courtesy of Hope&Glory's James Gordon-MacIntosh here.

Crisps from abroad

Sunbed. Lunch from the buffet. Sunbed. Shop. Crisps & Chocolate. Nap. Shower. Out Out. The tried and tested timeline of the Brit abroad. Foreign crisps are less a ritual, more a religion: staring at shiny rectangular shapes like they’re stained glass windows.

Finally, this religious experience was brought to this green and pleasant land in a pop-up shop by Love Holidays. Verdict: LOVE. We the Lay-ety (that’s a really good crips/church joke btw) could, albeit it briefly, worship at the altar of Paprika Ruffles at home, as well as away.

PALACE x Nike x England

Talking of Ruffles. Wayne Rooney in one. Doing Shakespeare. In a £750 jacket. Nothing else to say tbh.

These ideas are undeniably British (or English), but they also paint a picture of new Britishness: inclusive, open, creative, quirky. Brands can absolutely build, as well as reflect or reinforce, culture.

I’d like to see more where that came from. And I would especially like to see someone sign up Fatiha El-Ghorri to complete the Grime Gran, Laila Morse trilogy. Ideally Nike. But otherwise I’m thinking Clarks. Yes bruv.