The London Museum perfects the montage with Uncommon

Creative montages seemed to form the bulk of Cannes winners this year, and we reckon Uncommon’s effort for The London Museum stands amongst them, earning our Work Of The Week accolade. But what does the future hold for the medium?

The London Museum, formerly the Museum of London, has unveiled a daring new brand identity that’s as polarising as the city it represents. At the heart of this transformation is an unlikely icon: a white clay pigeon trailed by a glittering gold “splat” of poo, designed to embody London’s gritty yet glamorous duality.

First introduced last year, the pigeon has now taken flight in a campaign wrapping around the museum’s new Smithfield Market home, set to open in 2026 as part of a £437m relocation project.

The rebrand, led by Uncommon Creative Studio in collaboration with Something More Near, stems from over 100 hours of conversations with 500 Londoners and tourists, capturing the city’s diverse voices.

“We wanted more than a new identity for this amazing museum; we wanted a new icon for London itself,” said Nils Leonard, co-founder of Uncommon Creative Studio. “The pigeon is a blank canvas, reflecting the influences, identities, and events shaping this ever-changing city.”

The pigeon, hand-moulded from Thames clay by a Londoner, was chosen for its ‘omnipresence and impartial observation’ of city life. “For over 1,000 years, these birds have watched London change and grow, becoming a symbol of the city,” said senior curator Francis Marshall. The accompanying splat, inspired by actual pigeon droppings but rendered in sparkling gold, celebrates London’s mix of “grit and glitter.”

The new identity also includes a dynamic website and a “London Stories” initiative, featuring 1,000 narratives about the city’s people, places, and events, enhanced by AI-driven tools to improve accessibility and engagement. The pigeon logo will occasionally be “re-skinned” online to reflect trending London conversations, ensuring the brand remains as fluid as the city.

A new phase

The campaign’s latest phase, unveiled this summer, features 33 two-metre-tall pigeon sculptures strutting around the Smithfield site, each uniquely designed by artists from London’s 32 boroughs and the City of London. From Bromley’s heron-inspired design to Hammersmith and Fulham’s iconic hammer, each pigeon tells a story of its borough’s culture and history.

Artists like Kingsley Nebechi, who infused Enfield’s pigeon with African and Italian art influences, and Hattie Newman, who nodded to Ealing’s red double-decker bus, bring personal and local narratives to life.

Our take

This inventive rebrand hasn’t been without controversy.

Some Londoners, like Maxwell Blowfield of the Maxwell Museums newsletter, have questioned the pigeon’s relevance: “I’ve lived here 15 years, and no one ever thinks, feels, or speaks about pigeons,” he said. “They’re one of the least unique things about London.”

Others have called the logo crude or a waste of resources, pointing to the city’s ongoing battles with pigeon-related mess. Yet, the museum embraces the debate. “This is a brand identity that belongs to the city,” Green said. “It’s meant to be divisive, just like London itself.”

Whatever your take, our take this week was more around the macro picture for the future of montages. Uncommon pulled off an engaging and tasteful effort here, which showcases the brand identity in its proper context. There are other success stories too, like this from Goodyear, this from Puma and this from Marie Curie.

We wonder, however, whether in the age of AI, the montage will be a bit of an early victim? While realistic character and story-led action have yet to be perfected, incorporating existing footage might prove to be an easier win for our AI overlords, potentially leading to a tedium of the medium, so to speak.

We, as ever, welcome your thoughts (tom@creativemoment.co).