To kick off the official inauguration of the new ‘Hampton by Hilton’ Hotel brand in Europe, the leading global hospitality family’s UK-based communications team came back to us to help them launch their first ever European hotel property to open its doors to guests in the United Kingdom: the Hampton by Hilton in Corby, Northamptonshire.

We were asked to deliver an event that would not only tie in with their local media promo campaign via Radio Heart FM, but also to generate awareness of the overall Hampton brand – engaging the local community, stirring up a media buzz and directly driving reservation bookings to the new hotel itself.  Showcasing the core features that set the Hampton Hotel guest experience apart was key to the brand messaging: we’re talking ‘freebies’ here, the things that people remember when they’re on the go: a comfy bed, free breakfast and a high speed broad band connection.

Working around the ‘Ready for Hampton Bed’ theme we customised a motorised ‘Hampton by Hilton bed’, fluffy duvets, pillows and all, and drove it round the town, filming improvised comic sketches en route. Featuring hand-picked well-known talented actors (Rosie Fellner, The Fast Show) the activity not only sparked local interest and invited media attention but also created the filmic material required for a series of viral movies intended for imminent launch on You Tube. On hand Drive-in production design and direction meant capturing quality on-site video footage was an added bonus for the client.

In conjunction with Heart FM, a ‘Pyjama Finale’ competition was staged, the wearers of the most outrageous PJ’s primed to win round-trip tickets for two to Memphis – the American home of the Hampton brand. Judged by local celebrities and radio DJ’s and hosted in a huge marquee with live radio broadcast, the event turned into a full scale carnival street-party.

The result?  Worth getting out of bed for.

The Alternative Miss World - a beauty contest like no other – ricocheted back into the limelight on Saturday 2 May 2009 as Drive Productions brought their creative production expertise to premiere London venue, the Roundhouse.

Running since 1972, this infamous event is part beauty contest, part stage show and is renowned for its celebration of what its founder, the feted artist and designer Andrew Logan, calls ‘creative free-reign’. Entry to the competition is open to all, but based on one important proviso: no one is allowed to rehearse. Oh – and in the words of Logan himself, self styled ‘Wizard of Odd’ - ’anything goes’. With the role of show production company, we knew we were in for an interesting night. We not only needed to retain the event’s trademark chaos that is now part and parcel of the Logan brand, but also to facilitate the filming of the occasion by Living Cinema, a film unit making a feature length documentary about this anarchic event and its turbulent history.

Still thriving after all these years, the Alternative Miss World is ‘not about beauty but about transformation’ -  a vivid and colourful reminder that the ordinary can indeed become extraordinary. The event needed to embody this unconventional artistic approach. So our priority was to deliver a visually spectacular show to an 1800 capacity audience that could capture the nature of the event while running on schedule.

We also needed to seamlessly manage the interaction between the show itself and the film production team in a live event scenario – delivering a compelling and theatrical live event that was also suitable to shoot on high definition film. 

Effective management of twenty contestants and their teams, along with a large film crew – a cast and crew in excess of 400 – was crucial to the success of the event in order to allow it to stay true to its roots. An imaginative floor plan ensured that technicians, cameras and the judges’ enclosure were all incorporated into a creative front of house design, with a backstage area providing makeup, dressing and green room space for over 200 performers, contestants and helpers all with a multitude of unusual requirements.

Inventive use of rigging, ramps and lighting created the multifarious backdrop to this punk parade and with numerous categories – day, swim and evening wear – to get through, timing was vital. Careful planning was also needed to provide a workable platform that could allow for the spontaneous flare of the performers – a baroque-costumed 14-piece orchestra The Irrepressibles, Bishi and Moscow’s Aquaaerobika – and to cater to the diverse technical needs of contestants themselves. And these were no ordinary beauty queens. ‘Little Miss Sustainable’ required watering facilities for her 8ft wide topiary and floral hat; ‘Miss Flotsam’s’ costume was made entirely from recycled waste and needed 10m2 of clearance backstage, while ‘Miss Fancy Chance’ had some serious rigging requirements to be lifted from her dress by her hair.

The show went down a storm. Hosted by Andrew Logan himself, along with Ruby Wax and a selection of celebrity judges including Julian Clary, Jonny Woo, Zandra Rhodes, Time Out publisher Tony Elliott and actor Richard O’Brien it could hardly be anything but.

Happy client. Happy venue. Happy twelfth birthday to Alternative Miss World.

The footage taken on the night is now in the edit suite as we speak, so look out for The British Guide to Showing Off at a cinema near you.

Drive productions did a fabulous job and I would recommend you to anybody and everybody.  You were marvelous.
Andrew Logan