One of the best things about working for a creative agency across a broad range of clients is all of the weird and wonderful things we get to do and call it work. As we look back over 21 years of MCG, we asked our team to tell us about their favourite day at MCG so far.
Sophie, Account Director
It would have to be the day we did pop up spray tans for Northern in Blackpool. After weeks of careful planning, we had our fingers and toes crossed that everything would go as we’d envisaged. It was boiling hot, we had huge queues, we got national news coverage – it felt so good to see our idea come to fruition so perfectly. The one thing you can’t guarantee is the weather, and we couldn’t have got any better for a day at the beach. A really memorable day at the seaside – especially the hard-earned fish and chips at the end of the day!
Natalie, Account Executive
My best day at MCG so far has been doing the launch event at the Pink Lady® basketball court. The project saw us work with an artist to regenerate a court in Islington by creating a community mural with the space. I grew up in London, and being able to participate in the launch event for members of the community who lived and went to school near the basketball court felt like giving back to a community which was very similar to the one that I grew up in. It felt like a full-circle moment for me and was such an inspiring, heart-warming day. The banter between friends and infectious laughter of the youth group kept a smile on my face all day.
Katie H, Senior Account Director
After months of lockdowns and quite literally years in the making due to the pandemic, it has to be bringing incredible live music to the people of Manchester. We worked with Stuart Maconie who devised a music tour, calling at all of Manchester’s most iconic locations. Train passengers danced, crowds formed on the streets and traffic stopped as they were treated to the sights and sounds of an outstanding group of musicians, captured on film for video content which I’m exceptionally proud of.
Emma, Senior Account Executive
We did an incredible shoot last year which I won’t forget in a hurry – filming a swimming expert doing an outdoor swim at a private lake in the countryside. I love being outdoors so this was the perfect setting, and despite it being December, we had beautiful blue skies in the middle of a fortnight of grey, rainy days. Ella, the swimming expert, was so inspiring and it was such an educational day. We got to eat mince pies and have hot cups of tea from Kate’s camper-van with the crew between takes and then on the way home, completely by chance, we saw the Red Arrows flying over the fields of rural Lincolnshire. It’s often little moments like that which make a day so memorable!
Carys, Senior Account Manager
My highlight was back in 2017 when we did a press trip to Jersey. We got to take part in all of the amazing activities which we organised over a course of months for our guests alongside the local experts at Visit Jersey. After a lot of hard work in the planning, it was great to be able to experience Jersey ourselves for the first time: we went on a food tour, visited a dairy, got to see Jersey’s best beaches, attend an intimate supper club, visit a vineyard and enjoy a sunny Jersey day at a garden picnic. It felt a bit like being on holiday, which in my book is a great day at work!
Katy M, Senior Account Director
It’s hard to pick one, but my best day would probably be when we did a client event at Wildnerness Reserve in Suffolk. It’s an really unbelievable location (just being there was a bit of a pinch-me moment) which we had set up for a three-day event for journalists and influencers. We arrived after a long drive on a pretty warm day and had about 20 minutes spare before our guests were due to arrive, so seized the moment and went and jumped in the amazing sunken outdoor pool. We were all smiles after that and it was a great way to kick off an amazing three days, which saw us deliver a really successful event.
Alice, Social Media Manager
One of my favourite days at MCG was when we headed up the photography shoot for the rebrand of smoked fish specialist, Bleiker’s. They were going through an exciting period of change and wanted a fresh new look for their brand. Working with a dedicated team, we directed the photography of new recipes and their range of products for use across all platforms. It was really exciting to see the product come to life with careful planning, artful display and gentle tinkering to get the best shots for our client. It’s really rewarding to see a client go through all of the stages of a rebrand and knowing you and your team worked together to create beautiful imagery that will be used on site, social, packaging and in store for years to come.
Sarah, Client Services Director
So many favourite days at MCG, but one that really sticks in my mind is when we dressed iconic statues and sculptures across the UK in thermals to keep them warm as part of a wider Warming the Nation campaign we devised to re-assert Damart’s expertise in this field. One of the locations was Crosby Beach, home to the wonderful Another Place installation by Anthony Gormley: 100 cast iron life-size figures spread three kilometres along the foreshore and one kilometre out to sea. Dressed in thermals ourselves on a beautiful, crisp clear winter’s day, we ran about the beach wrapping these icy figures in warming thermals and dodging the incoming tide. With roses in our cheeks, we fell upon a hut serving hot drinks to warm us up as we laughed about our antics and damp feet. Exhilarating.