PG Tips and New Commercial Arts launch new campaign with Monkey and Emily Atack

Monkey’s back, and this time he’s married and starring in his own reality show ‘At Home with Monkey’, sponsored by PG Tips.

Monkey, PG Tips’ iconic mascot, is back to launch a new creative platform, ‘Live life one tea at a time’. The work has been created by NCA, part of Ogilvy Group UK, and will be supported by a campaign spend of £8m. This is the first campaign since New Commercial Arts was appointed as PG Tips’ creative agency of record in January and also stars national favourite comic actress Emily Atack, who plays Monkey’s wife, Alice, also known as Mrs M.

In a continuation of his successful media career, Monkey now has a reality show documenting the ups and downs of his daily life (sponsored, of course, by PG Tips). Viewers are invited into Monkey and Alice’s home where they live with their two children, Earl and Chai, as they banter, bicker and - most importantly - brew their way through the day, living life one tea at a time.

In true-to-form reality TV style, the film and social campaign includes behind-the-scenes moments, photoshoots and even nods to memorable moments of recent pop culture.

Social media and consumer PR activations were created by The Romans, including bespoke teasers and parodies of social trends, such as Vogue’s My Life in Looks and reality TV confessionals.

The film was directed by Si & Ad and produced by Academy, and media planning and buying was handled by PHD.

Dan Seager and Steve Hall, executive creative directors, New Commercial Arts: “It’s been an absolute joy to work with the team at PG Tips. We were eager to create a campaign that did justice to such an iconic, fabric-of-the-nation brand and brought to life the fact that, whatever life throws at you, nothing beats a good cup of PG. And no one knows that better than Monkey. The nation has clearly missed him and persuading him to come back into the limelight has been a career high.”

Credits

PG Tips

Elle Barker – CMO, UK & Ireland

Heidi Williams – Head of Communications & Partnerships

Nathan Higgins – Social, Influencer & PR Manager

Kirsten Battle – Assistant Brand Manager

New Commercial Arts

Hannah White - CEO

Dan Seager & Steve Hall - ECDs

Alicia Job and Jess Pacey - Creatives

Matt Walters – CSO

Georgia Dickinson – Head of Production

Russell Taylor – Senior Producer

Miriam Goode – Business Director

Gaëlle Rolland – Account Manager

Olivia Rose – Account Director

Tom Lockwood – Creative Content Lead

Film Production

Production Company: Academy Films

Director: Si & Ad

Producer: Tom Cartwright

DOP: Alex Barber

Puppeteers: Nigel Plaskitt, Susan Beatie, Paul Jomain

Edit: Adam Spivey @ Assembly Rooms

Edit Producer: Phoebe Armstrong-Beaver

Postproduction: Selected Works

VFX: Jonathan Westley (Wes)

Postproduction Producer: Noa Vuagniaux

Audio: Jake Ashwell @ 750 MPH

Audio Producer: Aishah Amodu

Music: Audio Network

Stills Production

Nick Eagle – Photographer

King Henry – Retouch & Design

Automated Creative

Amy Wright - Global Head of Strategy

Danielle Sims - Business Director

Giacomo Cisternino - Senior Client Lead

PHD

Andrew Chandler – Media Director

James Walton – Senior Planning Director

Rachel Sharrow – Planning Associate Director

Megan Conneely – Strategy Director

The Romans

Tom Phillips – PR Account Manager

Holly Dunnett – Senior PR & Communications Consultant

Sophie Baker - Director

Niall Massingham – Digital Account Manager

Sam Morgan-Smith – Head of Social

David Levesley – Social Editor & Copywriter

Scarlet Pughe – Creative