MediaCity agency Meanwhile has launched a new series of idents for tombola, to activate the UK’s leading online bingo brand’s new sponsorship of the UK’s longest running reality series, The Only Way Is Essex.
The campaign mashes the world of bingo calls and the “nouveau cockney”, as spoken by the show’s finest with a cheeky wink.
Meanwhile collaborated with the boutique German animation studio FOREAL to make the films, which show bingo balls in various states of getting vajazzled, doing their lippy or foundation.
Ahead of seeing the films debut on ITVBe this week, Meanwhile account director Mona Rowley-Rock said: “We wanted to make idents like no other, and the sort of thing that could only be by tombola, which is so important to maximise the impact and really cement the Open for Fun campaign in the minds of our audience. The work is entertaining too, because to us advertising really doesn’t have to feel like advertising.”
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Megan Varley, campaign executive at tombola, added; “These idents are a great opportunity for us to connect with the TOWIE audience and have a lot of fun with bingo lingo, while showing off our exclusive range of low stake bingo games. We’re really proud of the result and are thrilled to see them go live.”
Meanwhile was appointed by tombola following an extensive pitch process in 2024, and launched Open for Fun last autumn, with a goal of showcasing the brand’s originality in such a busy sector.
Meanwhile was founded in 2022 by BAFTA-winning former BBC Creative directors James Cross and Tim Jones, along with former Chapter managing director, Al Marchant. The agency’s roster of clients includes tombola, Travel Supermarket, Comic Relief, Chester Zoo, Coventry Building Society, parkrun, Liverpool FC, Netflix and Barnardo’s.
Sunderland-based tombola, which began life printing bingo tickets over half a century ago in the 1950s, is the UK’s biggest online bingo site. It was acquired in 2021 by Flutter, a global sports betting, gaming and entertainment provider, operating some of the world’s most innovative and distinctive brands in the field.
