The brief? The BBC's yearly coverage of the Eurovision Song Contest is one of the biggest dates in the entertainment calendar. Although it had an established loyal and strong following, the commissioners wanted to broaden its appeal and attract new audiences to the show.
Leveraging fresh new creators was a must, but in addition, it felt right to harness the value of BTS content. The show & the contestants are famous for their colourful and at times outlandish performances – so it was all the more intriguing to find out what they were really like, what were their motivations, how did they really feel behind all the glitz and glamour! Drawing the curtain back, we needed someone to help lift that lid.
Enter Josh Hughes, aka @TheTourettesBarber…
As his creator name suggests, Josh has Tourette’s Syndrome. An already successful creator with a 650k-strong following, his own insta channel is made up of interviews at his barber shop in Essex. His interviews are both funny and poignant with no subject area out of bounds. The BBC commissioners immediately recognised how his charismatic, relaxed and disarming honesty could uncover insights and bring a new audinece to the show. We created a short vertical series with a ‘greenroom’ style backstage set-up, recreating the barber-shop vibe with contestants and presenters coming in for a final ‘preen’ before going on stage. Importantly, it was a scenario that still felt authentic to Josh’s own content.
Above all, it was incredibly important to celebrate the playfulness that Josh’s Tourette’s bought to the interviews, while not making it about him, it served to tease out insights from the acts and the hosts that were at times profound, as well as funny. From mental health struggles to make-up fails, it enlightened as well as entertained.
It was a truly social & entertaining collaboration that embodied brand values and bought disability into the mainstream.
As for the results? The chemistry worked! Published across BBC iPlayer socials it clocked up over 1.7 million views and over 23k engagements. With positive sentiment sky high, as it was clear the audiences massively fell for the humour and the authenticity.
