Midwich Cuckoos

Beware of the children

A quiet commuter town. A curious incident. And some children who are not of this world. We needed something disruptive to bring Sky’s remake of a John Wyndham classic to life in the real world.

The core thought was the notion that children together, far from being innocent, could be a malevolent and terrifying force.

We pushed the formats with lenticular bus t-sides, showing the kids appearing and reappearing, digital hijacks, glitching between Sky Mobile ads and the cuckoos themselves, and at the centre of it all, a special build stunt at Westfield White City.

Enhancing our 48 sheet billboard with a 3D street scene, we had the Cuckoos 'escape' the poster to wreak havoc on the town. Life size mannequins were dotted around the space in an unsettling game of hide and seek, while a crashed milk float and damaged Midwich town scene turned heads and drew shoppers in to investigate.

Agency: Sky Creative
Photographer: Julia Fullerton-Batten
Creative director: Al Austin
Art director/designer: Charles Bignell
Copywriter: Luke Butler