GIFFGAFF GETTING CREATIVE

My friends at Hoot have been weaving their online magic again and this time for the mobile network giffgaff.

What better way to spread the word about their online SIM-only service than a web series?

Called The Chaos, with the slogan Life’s better out of contract, the series follows a band who are signed to a record label that ultimately destroys their independent spirit.

And this motley bunch includes UA’s very own Dan Renton Skinner as Dougie the band’s manager.

It’s very funny, there are 5 episodes and you can watch them all on giffgaff’s dedicated site, or have a look at episode 1 here:

Good stuff!

UA NEWS

Well the jetlag is starting to kick in, been up since 4am which proved surprisingly productive re thinking about work, but not sure how I’ll be feeling later in my meeting at Diageo with the heads of Global and European Innovation.

Whilst I’ve been away I see that UA clients have been busy winning awards and appearing on stage, screen and radio.

The 2011 British Comedy Awards saw Horrible Histories (starring wonderful Jim Howick) pick up yet another gong, this one for Best Sketch Show.

Dan Renton Skinner won the award for Comedy Breakthrough Artist. Shooting Stars in which he also appears won Best Comedy Panel Show.

Joe Thomas collected two awards on the evening.  Fresh Meat won Best New Comedy Programme and The Inbetweeners won The British Comedy Academy Outstanding Achievement Award.

On stage, James Corden is off the Broadway to wow American audiences in Richard Bean’s hot comedy One Man, Two Guvnors. Fellow cast members Suzie Toase, Claire Lams and Fred Ridgeway are going too. Lucky New York!

And for all you book-lovers, The London Train by Tessa Hadley has been selected for the new Waterstones Book Club launching on Thursday.

Have a look at our home page for more stories – you’ll see that The Iron Lady is awash with UA talent – guess who is playing Carol Thatcher?

ANGELOS EPITHEMIOU CHANNEL 4 SERIES

I was very pleased to see that Duncan Hayes‘ lovely client Dan Renton Skinner has a brand new series commissioned by Channel 4.

His alter-ego Angelos Epithemiou is an award-winning burger van owner, who refuses to let anyone know where exactly his burger van is situated because, as he puts it, “I don’t want anyone coming up to the van and mucking around with my generator because it’s just been fixed and it cost me a fortune to do it”.

He not only created mayhem as Vic and Bob’s sidekick on Shooting Stars, but has also toured the UK.

Here’s a clip of him in action on Shooting Stars.

Channel 4 has ordered a full six episode series from Angelos’ creator Dan Renton Skinner.

Made by Reeves and Mortimer’s production company Pett, the show promises slapstick, jokes, high energy dancing, catchy singing and sophisticated magic as well as studio audience interaction, new comedy characters and celebrity guests.

I can’t wait!