What it had to solve
Rings in the return of Married at First Sight UK with a campaign that captures the show's escapism and theatrics of love, starting on air on 1 August 2022.
The idea
The trailer turns a bad first date into the big day in one continuous transformation: the man across the table becomes her husband before your eyes.
How it works
A conceptual film for 4creative with speedy set changes and west-end-ready costume transformations: bar meeting, a knee-down proposal, parents appearing in fascinators, all in 40 seconds, kicking off an integrated campaign with social interaction.
What it did
No campaign results reported; the show it promoted was E4's highest-rating non-scripted programme ever in 2021 and the third most-streamed show on All 4, with the Australian version averaging 1.3m viewers an episode.
Background
On 1 August 2022, E4 launched a campaign for the return of Married at First Sight UK with a conceptual film by the broadcaster's in-house agency 4creative that transports viewers from a first date to a wedding ceremony in 40 seconds. The world of an unfazed singleton changes in the blink of an eye as the man she is on a first date with becomes her husband.
The film moves from meeting in a bar for a drink to him getting down on one knee, with her parents appearing in fascinator and fancies — a 'perfect unison of speedy set changes and west-end-ready costume transformations', LBB reported. Executive creative director Lynsey Atkin: 'We dramatized this nought to sixty notion with a totally transforming scene, turning the big date into the big day in a ridiculous way you can't look away from — much like the show itself.'
Marketing director Amber Kirby called the film the start of a fully integrated campaign viewers could interact with on social as the couples' stories unfold. The stakes were high for the broadcaster: in 2021 Married at First Sight UK was E4's highest rating non-scripted programme ever and the third most-streamed show on All 4, and the Australian version was averaging 1.3m viewers per episode.
Why it lands
The device is exact: the show marries strangers on first sight, so the trailer performs the same violent acceleration on screen.
The craft is named: continuous scene changes and stage-quality costume transformations carry the whole gag in 40 seconds.
It shows a broadcaster's in-house agency working at trailer-film ambition for a returning format.
What you can take
When the product is a format as absurd as marrying a stranger, the trailer should behave like the show: compress the whole ridiculous arc into one unbroken transformation.
Since then
The trailer kicked off a campaign on air from 1 August 2022, with further activity to be revealed and social interaction planned around the couples' storylines; the series was produced by CPL Productions for E4.
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