BBC iPlayer uses April Fools’ Day to make the unmissable, unmissable

Film-maker and writer Terry Jones is the latest star to feature in an ambitious marketing trail for BBC iPlayer.

The 90-second trail shows Terry following a unique colony of Adelie Penguins as they fly thousands of miles across the frozen wasteland of Antarctica to the Amazon Rainforest.  It was shown on air on April Fools’ Day in tandem with a viral campaign which was launched online.

‘Penguins’ was the brainchild of advertising agency RKCRY&R.  Mark Roalfe was the Executive Creative Director, Paul Silburn, Creative Director, and the Director was Vince Squibb at Gorgeous.  Sarah Caddy at Red Bee Media was Producer.

Passion Pictures were responsible for the animation.  Director Darren Walsh, VFX supervisor Neil Riley and a team of animators and compositors study BBC Archive footage and numerous films of birds with similar shapes, in particular guillemots, taking off and flying to ensure they could reproduce the movement of the penguins as realistically as possible.

The Mill were responsible for post-production, the edit was done at The Quarry and sound at Wave.  Anne Dudley composed the music.

Penguins April Fool - The Making Of - BBC