How Crabbie’s new AD epitomises the Grand National | 04 Nov
Taylor James have created a new campaign that in my opinion perfectly encapsulate my feelings towards the Grand National. Working with the studio Loaf Creative they have produced some stunning printed ads and an emotive video showing the grand theatre that is the Grand National.
The reason why I find it so compelling is simple. It reminds me in the most cliche but sincere way of my youth. Those thirty fences spaced over two circuits at Aintree were when I felt incredibly close to my father. The week before the race, year upon year I would speak to him about it exclusively. We really connected over the magic and thrill that anything could happen in the race. Something about The Grand National separated itself from the generally negative views of gambling and horse racing. The Grand National had a sense of regality and legend.
We would pour over the back pages of the newspapers, looking at the colourfully weird jerseys reminiscent of medieval coats of arms where we would pick our knights for battle. I would invariably pick the most colourful jockeys, regardless of the odds. My father meticulously studying the stats, the backgrounds, consulting my grandfather if the the horse he picked matched his ‘system of success’ (an algorithm he had spent many years constructing to always predict the winner).
Jockey jerseys or a coat rack in a bar in Shoreditch?
Once we had chosen, we’d rush to the high street betting shop. Normally filled with odd balls and the hopeless, on the day of The Grand National the betting shop was buzzing with life. The video really touches on this. The nation becomes electrified by The National. From the jockeys to the £1 punters, the whole world is watching, 600 million in 140 countries across the globe in fact.
The video really shows the unpredictability of the race, the underdog or even the unheard of stand a chance of winning. Whether we won or lost, it was something me and my father enjoyed incredibly.
Moreover, the campaign wants to show how The Grand National isn’t just one day. You have The Grand Opening, Ladies Day and The Grand National. This isn’t just a few minutes shouting at a TV in William Hill, it’s a part of British culture, history and traditional. An event that isn’t just a piece of many of my own happy memories but probably yours as well.
