Yorkshire has packing down to a Tea

A new campaign for Yorkshire Tea embraces the summer with a brilliantly catchy tune that celebrates the thing all Brits hold close to their hearts, wherever they are in the world; tea.

Created by Lucky Generals and directed by Blink's Fred Rowson, The Tea Song campaign is a two-and-a-half-minute celebration of Yorkshire Tea and of one young man's inability to go on holiday without access to his favourite brew. 

The track, called Pack Yer Bags, was created in association with independent record label Ninja Tune and singer, songwriter, producer and DJ Laura Bettinson, and is packed full of puns to create not just a genuinely catchy song, but a hugely funny one, too.

“My favourite ads are the ones that get really, really specific about some small detail of life, and blow it up into something epic," said Rowson. "And the creatives at Lucky Generals absolutely nailed that in this spot. From the client to the creatives to my HoDs and cast, we were all on the same page about how good this could be, so this has been one of the most fun experiences I've had in commercials.”

Below, Lucky Generals Creative Directors Nick Bird and Lee Smith, and director Fred Rowson explain a bit more about how the idea came together.

How and why did you come up with the idea of a track and music video for Yorkshire Tea? 

NB & LS: Yorkshire Tea has made a few songs in the past and they asked us to come up with the next one. The brief was to do something for the summer aimed at tea drinkers who are fed up with not being able to get a decent brew when they are abroad on their holidays. Something most of us are familiar with. The solution being Pack Yer Bags and take your Yorkshire Tea on holiday with you. All wrapped up in a lovely little summer banger. 

Tea drinking is not usually associated with teenagers; why did this feel like the right approach?

NB & LS: The song isn’t exclusively for young ’uns. We tried to create something that’ll stick in everyone's heads, as the best summer choons do. But yes, Yorkshire Tea does have a lot of love for the next generation of tea drinkers. But, hopefully, the message will resonate with people of all ages. 

Above: Behind the scenes on Pack Yer Bags.

Why was Fred Rowson the best director for this job?  

NB & LS: We chose Fred because he had that music promo sensibility but with advertising chops too. A good combo for this spot. He really got that blend of the music promo and humour that we wanted.

Did you immediately know how you wanted to approach the script? 

FR: I think so! The song always told a bit of a story and the character felt so clear to me. The main challenge was that, tragically, we weren’t going to be shooting in Ibiza. So I had to think about how to shoot this in the constraints of a bedroom.

Did you look to other promos/commercials for any inspiration? 

I looked at classic music videos in the world of Hype Williams, and some more modern ones, like vids for Aitch and Slowthai, because I thought that this is how a young lad from Skipton might fantasise about his holiday. But, generally, I try to follow my nose and not get too distracted by what else is out there.

Above: Images from the Pack Yer Bags shoot.

How did Ninja Tune get involved, and why were they a perfect partner for this? 

NB & LS: The last thing we wanted to do was make an ad parody of a summer banger. We wanted to make a genuinely decent song. So, we thought Ninja Tune was perfect. And, as soon as we heard Laura Bettinson’s (aka Lau.ra) ace music, we knew she was bang on. 

Humour has long been the approach for this brand; why is it the right approach for it? 

NB & LS: Apart, obviously, from the tea-making process, Yorkshire Tea doesn’t take itself too seriously. Humour is always a good way to cut through and engage. But for us, it has to be the right humour. Anything too slapstick is wrong. It has to have an element of reality in there too, for it to be credible. 

How long did it take - and how difficult was it - to come up with the lyrics? 

NB & LS: We came up with the ‘Pack yer bags’ message pretty early on in the process and put that in the brief. Then Will, the creative on this, came back in a few days with a demo which had us all rolling about on the floor. We had to find a sweet spot time-wise and after a bit of editing and shifting about with Sam Robson at No8, we got to a place that sounded great.