Iggy Pop Reminds Brits the Beach Will Be There When This Is All Over

Iggy Pop dons baggies like some proto-punk surfer god to assure Brits that beach holidays will still be there for them once the pandemic recedes.

“That was some year. Oh boy,” Pop’s narration begins in a short film for U.K. travel booking site On the Beach. “The sun came out, and we were stuck inside. Lockdown loco. Working from home became sleeping at the office. And shaking hands became, well, odd.”

The iconic rocker’s soliloquy washes over scenes of diverse folks running along the shore and frolicking in the waves:

Iggy’s as gravel-voiced as you’d expect; it’s like he gargled with sand before cutting his narration. He appears at the end, literally saluting the tide, and reminds us…

“At some point, someday, you’ll be on your dream holiday. Thinking … is it too early for a drink? No … no, it’s not. Remember … everything’s better on the beach. And it’s ready when you are.”

An orchestral interlude from his recent track “Sunday” adds notes of aural grandeur to the two-minute spot, directed by Uncommon Creative Studio executive creative director Sam Walker, who developed the project with Pulse Films.

Titled “Someday,” the ad marks Pop’s second effort for the brand, as he voiced On the Beach’s pre-pandemic push a year ago. The spot also extends the Iggster’s shirtless bromance/collaboration with Uncommon founder Nils Leonard.

“This was our response to what has been, for a lot of people, their worst year ever,” Walker tells Muse. “It’s a very difficult time for a lot of people, and we need hope. We have to believe there will be an end to this at some point, and Iggy is the perfect person to deliver this defiant message of optimism. He is an icon, a unique man with a powerful message on life.”

“The film is for everyone,” he adds. “The beach is one of the few genuinely democratic places. No matter who you are, what you do, or how much money you have, the beach is a great leveler. We’re all the same when we’ve stood with nothing but our swimsuits on the sand.”

Most of the footage was shot in Majorca, Spain, under strict Covid protocols, with Pop filmed remotely near his Miami home.

“There are no other 73-year-olds who look as majestic as he does on a beach,” Walker says. “At the end of his gigs, he sometimes waves to the crowd, like he’s saluting, like he’s our leader. And that’s the feeling we wanted at the end. We’re all craving some hope, someone to tell us someday things will be better.”

Though the film strikes a bright tone, some melancholy yearning seeps in, deepened, perhaps, by recent events in the U.K., as a more infectious Covid-19 variant keeps Brits locked down across much of the nation.

Breaking Christmas Day on Britain’s Got Talent, the campaigns runs through the end of February across TV, online and social.

In April, The Martin Agency floated similar themes for Virginia tourism ads, with historic sites and scenic attractions reminding house-bound souls that better days and sweet excursions lie ahead.

CREDITS

Project name: Someday
Agency: Uncommon Creative Studio
Client: On The Beach
Production company: Pulse Films
Director: Sam Walker
Production company producer: Luke Goodrum
Executive Producer: Lucy Kelly
Producer: Luke Goodrum
DOP: Alex Barber
Edit House: The Quarry
Editor: Paul Watts
Post-production and Grade: Black Kite Studios
Post-production Producer: Hannah Ruddlestone
Colourist: Richard Fearon
VFX: Marcus Moffatt
Audio post-production: Wave
Sound engineer: Jack Sedgwick
Audio producer: Matt Wyatt
Media agency: 7Stars
Media planner: 7Stars