DRUMMERS

TitleDRUMMERS
BrandLADBROKES
Product/ServiceLADBROKES
Category A07. Use of Licensed / Adapted Music
Entrant NEVERLAND London, UNITED KINGDOM
Idea Creation NEVERLAND London, UNITED KINGDOM
Media Placement THE7STARS London, UNITED KINGDOM
Production ROGUE London, UNITED KINGDOM
Post Production FACTORY London, UNITED KINGDOM
Post Production 2 ELECTRIC THEATRE COLLECTIVE London, UNITED KINGDOM
Credits
Name Company Position
Noel Hamilton Neverland Executive Creative Director
Lloyd Daniel Neverland Senior Creative
Jon Forsyth Neverland Founding Partner, Creative Strategy
Simon Massey Neverland Founding Partner, Brand Strategy
Amy Coomber Neverland Head of Production
Harriette Wright Neverland Senior Producer
Rich Kennedy Neverland Design Director
Claire Pearson Neverland Assistant Producer
Niall Hutchinson Neverland Business Director
Will Denvir Neverland Account Manager
Sam Brown Rogue Director
Polly Ruskin Rogue Producer
Kate Taylor Rogue Executive Producer
Patrick Meller Rogue DOP
Tim Thornton-Allan Marshall Street Editors Editor
SJ O'Mara Marshall Street Editors Edit Producer
Anthony Moore Factory Studios Sound Engineer
Josh Campbell Factory Studios Sound Engineer
Beth Massey Factory Studios Producer
Luke Morrison Electric Theatre Collective Colourist
Magda Krimitsou Factory Studios VFX Producer
Larisa Covaciu Factory Studios Production Coordinator
James Sindle Factory Studios Creative Director
Siân Rogers Siren Music Supervisor & Producer
Ash Soan Siren Arranger
Josh Campbell Siren Arranger
Mike Dolbear Siren Drum Coordinator

Write a short summary of what happens in the film

The film uses hundreds of drummers to evoke the building anticipation and tension that football fans feel during a crucial penalty. We see a football player back nervously away from the ball. We can hear his heart beating in a metronomic rhythm. The camera cuts back to reveal that it isn’t his heartbeat, but a crowd of drummers surrounding the player across the pitch. We then see that drummers are filling the entire stadium, spilling out into the commentary box and out into the world as we see the team’s fans watch in anticipation. We cut between fans watching the game across the country, all surrounded by drummers bringing to life their increasing nervous excitement. The tension builds to a crescendo of silence with unbearable tension. The whistle goes. The drums build back slowly, then quickly, as our player sprints towards the ball. He kicks and we cut to black.

Cultural / Context information for the jury

Chanting songs in stadium's terraces (where the fans sit) is a key part of British football fan culture. Each clubs fans have their own anthems that they chant across matches, with many singing rock/ indie songs with updated lyrics to focus on celebrating their team and players. The 2020 Euros was delayed by a year due to COVID, so the excitement and anticipation for the event was incredibly high in the run up to the event in 2021. In the ad we focused on a historically nerve wracking part of Football for fans from the UK - a penalty shoot out that will decide the outcome of a game.

Tell the jury about the choice of music track.

‘Rock & Roll Queen’ is the heart of the film. We chose the track for three key reasons: Firstly, it had an incredible beat and flow that reflected our concept, and could be built upon with our drummers. Secondly, it was a huge shift in genre for the brand, vital for kickstarting perception change. Thirdly, the lyrics felt like they came straight from the terraces. It felt totally authentic to the idea. To fully embed the song within the work, we partnered with renowned drummer Ash Soan, to recreate the percussion within the track. We recorded 190 drummers in each of the ad’s locations to capture the specific resonance and feeling of the sound in each space. We then mixed these recordings with the original song’s vocals and instruments to create the incredibly rich and intricate track that sits at the heart of the film.