Hovis Updates its Classic 'Boy on Bike' Motif With Spectacular VFX

Hovis is known for one of the most famous British ads ever, the 1973 boy on his bike spot directed by Sir Ridley Scott. In that commercial, a baker's helper pushes a bicycle up a steep cobbled hill while delivering bread. The brand has tried to reprise its success before, with spots including this one from 2008 harking back to the original theme. But in this new ad out of Mother London, it ditches nostalgia and updates the bike motif for a different age, adding in some impressive VFX. In the spot, promoting Hovis's Good Inside variant, some kids are heading out for a bike ride. However, as they ride, they're followed by walls, ceilings and bricks that spring out of nowhere, boxing them in, until finally they escape them. The voiceover warns: "Don't get stuck indoors," advising us instead to get outside and take a sandwich. It's only at the end that the thriller-type music is replaced by the strains of Dvorak's New World Symphony that graced the original ad. Academy's Johnny Hardstaff directed the ad, and the special effects are by MPC. The first major ad by Mother for Hovis since it won the account a year ago, it's certainly a different approach for the brand, which aims to appeal to a new generation as well as their parents. Sophie Lyons, marketing manager at Hovis commented in a statement: "We were keen to harness this brand love and pay homage to that rich Hovis heritage but in and new and exciting way. Positioning the brand as the provider of everyday goodness, we think that kids will love this advert as much as their parents love the original boy on a bike, demonstrating how the brand remains relevant to families today."

Hovis Updates its Classic 'Boy on Bike' Motif With Spectacular VFX

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