2023 was not a good year to be advertising train travel. Strikes, disruption, cancellations... The complications seemed constant, but TransPennine Express had to cut through the noise and bring some positivity back to rail travel. So what better than an animated bucket and spade and a burst of ‘Lovely Day’ by Bill Withers, right?

Spanning across TV, online video, outdoor, radio, press, social and digital, our campaign brought a burst of joy to everyone, encouraging them to Make the most of getting together.

Working with director Catherine Prowse through Blinkink, we took the brand characters of TransPennine Express into the miniature world of stop-motion animation. Bucket and Spade enjoy a fun-filled day out, crossing paths with everyone from Bagpipes to a family of socks.