We partnered with McCann Bristol across three consecutive digital campaigns for Thatchers Cloudy Lemon cider, beginning with its launch in 2020 and continuing through two follow-up seasonal refreshes.

The original brief was to bring a photoshopped still to life for a 10-second YouTube preroll. But after early iterations, we made the decision to rebuild everything from scratch in full CGI, giving us total control over lighting, texture and motion. The result was a simple yet satisfying moment: an apple falls from a tree, splits open mid-air, and reveals a lemon inside. Nice.

It was a deceptively technical project. We even used leaves from the apple tree outside our studio to build authentic UV maps. A tiny detail, but one that helped the world feel real. The campaign was a big success though, leading to two further evolutions: first a refreshed version the following year, then a ‘Perfectly Balanced’ spot (see below) in which the cider can teeters at the top of an impossibly stacked tower of apples, lemons and a Thatchers glass.

Three campaigns, each built with meticulous care, even when the result lasts just ten seconds.