A video made by the BFBS Radio team based in Germany has won the Content for Social Media category at the Event and Visual Communication Association (EVCOM) Screen Awards…
#ManOnTheChally was released last November, and features a soldier away on exercise, thinking about his family while he’s sitting on a Challenger 2 tank.
With the strapline ‘Show someone they’re loved this Christmas’ it highlights how many forces families have to spend time apart at important times of the year.
Producers Aimee Dewitt and Chris Keen, who also acted in the video, travelled over from the BFBS studios in Germany to collect their gold award at a ceremony in London.
Aimee said: “I feel so proud to have been able to create a piece of content that champions the Armed Forces in the eyes of the general public. I could never have hoped for our little iPhone video to have connected with as many people as it did, including the EVCOM judges.”
“It’s amazing. I can’t believe it,” added Chris. “I’ve always wanted to go to an award ceremony, and to go to my first one and come away with a gold for BFBS Germany is like a dream come true.”
The parody of a department store’s Christmas advertisement uses a cover version of Oasis’ Half the World Away as a soundtrack, and was made with the help of military units based in Paderborn Garrison.
Personnel serving in the local British Forces Post Office played cameo roles, while the Queen’s Royal Hussars lent the team a Challenger 2 tank for the film.
The judges said: “This very simple approach created a campaign that generated a huge emotional resonance with its target audience. Ingenious in its simplicity the film deserves huge respect for the enthusiasm and passion that made this happen.”
Controller BFBS Radio, Nicky Ness, said: “We live in a multi-platform world so it’s really important that as a radio station we embrace every opportunity we can to connect with our audiences. #ManOnTheChally was a first class example of visual creativity, using shareable web and social media content to underpin the work we do on air. This really is a fantastic result for the BFBS Germany team, and extremely well deserved. I’m so proud of their achievement.”
Since it was posted on the BFBS Radio Facebook page #ManOnTheChally has had more than 510,000 views and over 3,700 ‘likes’.
