When the news broke last year that BBC Three was going to be shelved as part of governmentally mandated cut backs at the beeb, I was more than a little upset. Not just because the channel is the source of my late-night Family Guy fix, but because the channel grew from humble beginnings into a legitimately singular voice that was youthful without being condescending and energetic without being annoying. The programming was also, by and large, so much better than it had any right to be given the channel's origins as a digital channel.
“We couldn’t think of a more Sunshine project if we tried”
From genuinely riveting and thought-provoking documentaries and surprisingly ambitious dramas, to some of the most beloved British comedies of the last decade (and not to mention cult favourites such as the woefully underrated Monkey Dust), it was a channel that always took risks. Granted those risks didn't always pan out, but the entertainment world always needs risk takers, otherwise we'd end up with nothing but Mrs Browns Boys and dross reality TV.
So the loss of BBC Three could be seen as something of a minor tragedy for 30-something individuals such as myself who still actually enjoy sitting down in front of the tele to digest our entertainment. According to this new campaign from independent agency Sunshine, however, it needn't be a tragedy, just an adjustment. In the first part of this three-stage campaign, Sunshine are simply letting us know how it will work, and are doing so in a typically bold BBC Three manner. The spot was created in collaboration with the writers and stars of breakthrough BBC Three comedy “People Just Do Nothing,” a 'mockumentary' following the larger than life hosts of a pirate radio station and denizens of the West London council estate the station calls home. The show was the first to premier exclusively on the BBC's online iPlayer service, so it makes sense that its characters would be chosen to herald the channel's online shift.
Chabuddy G Explains BBC Three Moving to the Interwebs
The sixty second spot, which will play out in the coming weeks across all BBC channels, aims to get the message across that “BBC Three isn’t closing, it’s moving to the interwebs.” The tongue-in-cheek film is aimed at the channel’s 16–34 year old audience. And as well as Chabuddy G and Steves from People Just Do Nothing, it always features comedian Romesh Ranganathan, presenter Stacey Dooley and actor Tyger Drew-Honey. The film will be accompanied by a series of comedy short-form content in BBC Three’s social and digital channels. The film, directed by Max Weiland from Somesuch, also accompanies a range of new eye-catching stings, revealing the channel’s notorious new logo, ‘glitching’ into live BBC television throughout the next four weeks in the build-up to the 16th February transition date.
“If you want an audience to take in multiple messages, you have to entertain them”
Hollie Newton, ECD @ Sunshine
Hollie Newton, Executive Creative Director at Sunshine, said of the campaign: “There’s no point hitting people with a mountain of straight information. If you want an audience to take in multiple messages, you have to entertain them. Make them laugh. We couldn’t think of a more Sunshine project if we tried. Right at the forefront of massive cultural change, slap bang in the middle of popular culture.” This is Sunshine’s first piece of work for BBC Three, and follows the unveiling of the aforementioned new logo by Red Bee Media, which stirred minor controversy when it was unveiled earlier this month. To the channel's credit, they did poke fun at themselves, and they continue to do so here, but using humour to deflect from the real issue is a tactic that can only get you so far, even if you are the mighty BBC!
BBC Three presenter Stacey Dooley
Whilst this campaign does make the best of a bad situation, I'm not convinced Sunshine have managed to make the transition seem like the natural 'evolution' the BBC obviously want us to think the online move represents. But then, I'm not sure there is any agency under the sun that could manage that without lying through their teeth. What do you think? Will you miss BBC Three? Does the campaign answer all of your questions? Or do you simply not care, and are glad the company's resources are being directed elsewhere? Sound off below!
Benjamin Hiorns is a freelance writer and struggling musician from Kidderminster in the UK.
