Brightening Up a Bad Day with Soreen’s ‘anthropo-maltic’ Singing Loaf

Sometimes only a ‘little treat’ can turn things around and Soreen, the maker of delicious malt loaves, is confident that the ‘Soreen squidge’ll pick you up’ after a bad day. That’s also the tagline for Soreen’s new campaign from TBWA\MCR, which launched with an entertainingly spooky spot titled ‘Your Squidgy Little Pick Me Up’. Directed by Sye Allen and co-produced by KODE and Jonny Kight with post production from Covert, the spot’s firmly tongue-in-cheek spot presents Malty (that’s a slice of the Soreen loaf) in singing and dancing glory, ready to brighten the harried heroine’s day. 

When Sye saw the brief - to work with a revamped version of A-ha’s ‘The Sun Always Shines on TV’, he was instantly convinced to try his hand at it. “The pitch came in a reassuringly uncomplicated format: “We’ve rewritten an ‘80s synth pop classic, which will be sung by a malt loaf, obviously.” I’m as partial to an 80s power ballad as the next sentimental director, and not impartial to a slice of Soreen so I was happy to pitch!” he says. 

Sye saw the potential to play on the emotions in the track, exaggerating the relationship between Malty and the actress, Rosie Raven, to give the spot a touch of light melodrama. “There’s a real over the top sentimentality to the song, which I wanted to lean into, elevating it to dreamy love story proportions. I referred to it as the Ballad of a Lady and her Loaf for a while, which actually helped imply a lot of the technique. We used anamorphic glass, went big on the backlight and haze, bringing a touch of 80s promo aesthetic into the kitchen. I wanted to capture a bit of that magic at every stage so I went for a pencil line storyboard, not unlike another certain A-ha promo…,” he explains. 

Above: courtesy of Sye Allen

And what was it like working with Rosie and Malty? “There was great chemistry between them, which is never guaranteed!,” says Sye. 

Malty’s look is deceptively simple; the texture of the loaf is there but it now features a smiling, singing mouth and raisins for eyes. It’s a touch surreal without departing too far from being a slice of Soreen most Brits will be able to recognise on sight. Malty, of course, truly came alive in post production, with Sye saying, “We obviously had to establish the facial features of the malt loaf prior to the shoot, going for a warm, low key appearance that was simple enough to be endearing, while giving us enough flexibility to get the life of the lyrical delivery in there. I created the initial design using a variety of different apps, and then Covert ran with it. They were excellent from start to finish; tracking a real person singing the song, and using this as a basis for our ‘anthropo-maltic’ face.” 

Covert worked their magic on Malty from the idea stage. “We got involved super early in the bidding/treatment and early creative conception. We worked to a reference from a similar style ad and developed a technique that would allow us to achieve a great output whilst keeping within scope and budget,” says the Covert team. 

Covert knew that they had a challenge on their hands with Malty. After all, what personality does a slice of Soreen have? Through teamwork, they figured it out: “We worked very closely with the creatives across the project and spent time in look development and R&D to work towards finding the best possible balance for malty in terms of personality, cuteness and staying as true as possible to an actual Soreen loaf!”

The spot’s transition from darkness to light is a pivotal moment, with the flooding sunlight illuminating a change in mood fortune. “The extra lighting effects were so important in landing not just the brand line “the sun always shines…” but also the eccentric, almost divine silliness needed to carry the weight of the track. So grateful for all the hard work that Covert put into this for us, it really did make all the difference,” adds Sye. 

Covert provided general VFX work on the spot, such as cleaning up elements in camera and added light rays alongside other elements and also the colour “via the wonderful Olya Korzhinskaya, plus, we handled the finishing, final conform and versioning of the ad,” the team says. 

Sye notes how vital the right casting is to pull off projects like this, saying it is  “always a cornerstone of the production, and as soon as we found Rosie I knew we would end up in a great place. There’s something very instinctive about landing the right artist, and when you see your vision being played out, (albeit in a slightly cramped casting room) you still feel the magic.”

By the sounds of things, the production process was free of any set-backs and full of good, creative fun. For Sye, this was the third time working with Jonny Kight and KODE. “I couldn’t be happier with the collaborators I have around me at the moment. I’d like to think we’re making real progress in how we approach productions and how we dig out extra value for the clients' creative along the way.”

The Covert team was likewise full of praise for all the collaborators. “Jonny was a joy to work with. He is a producer who pays particular attention to detail and is meticulous across all aspects of production. KODE is a long-time collaborator and partner of the studio. They listened to us, and to the benefits and limitations of the approach, and ensured details were passed through the chain which led to a great creative and post process.”

Covert has the last word on what was the best part of working on this spot: “It's got to be bringing the cute little guy to life.”