Tony Parsons

The brief:

Publishers HarperCollins approached us to create a short promotional film for Tony Parsons’ Men from the Boys, the final book in a trilogy that began with the million-copy bestseller Man and Boy.

Tony Parsons’ Man and Boy saw a high-water mark in popular writing about men, families and relationships, selling a millions copies in the process. In 2010, he completed the journey of his ‘hero’ Harry Silver with Men from the Boys.

His publishers HarperCollins asked us to create a punchy promotional film for use online. The challenge was to evoke the ten years of culture and current affairs between the two books –  evoking Harry’s journey as well as our own – in just 120 seconds.

The project:

With the iconic cover design of the first book as our starting point, we chose icons that defined the era, such as the young Tony Blair, the Millennium Dome, old mobile phones and The Phantom Menace. This was followed by some nifty typographic reminders of the story’s beginning. Then, after a fly-through of 10 years, finishing with Cameron and Clegg's memorable union in 2010, the pace changes for an elegant reveal of the new book.

Testimonial:

'I was so happy with how this promo came out – a great example of how One Darnley take simple elements like type and static images and create kinetic, entertaining work'.

Benedict North,
Creative Director HarperCollins UK