Uncommon talks Monzo, emotions, and playing with expectations

Creative Moment talks to Thea Føge Toft-Clausen and Cecilia Mervig, Senior Creatives at Uncommon who worked on the recent, much-lauded Monzo campaign.

Following its sterling work with Monzo, Creative Moment checked in with two of the campaign’s pioneers to discuss the brave creative, and what the agency is up to lately.

Tom Hall (TH): What sorts of conversations took place with Monzo around the angle for this campaign?

Thea & Cecilia (T&C): We wanted to highlight the relationship we have with money and how it makes us feel.

It’s not always great. It can make us feel anxious, frustrated, embarrassed, angry, nervous etc. We wanted to create a campaign that could evoke those feelings in us and then juxtapose those with how Monzo makes you feel.

TH: Where did the inspiration come from for this series of ads?

(T&C): A lot of it came from looking at art and how artworks can evoke specific emotions in us. We also found a lot of inspiration in the world of memes. The classic reality vs. expectation format where something great is juxtaposed with something not so great. A very simple format that allows for a lot of creative freedom.

TH: What were the technical and creative challenges you faced?

(T&C): When we were shooting the film we filmed more than 90+ scenes with unique setups in 4 days so there was a lot to do and not a lot of time. Luckily we had an amazing team that made it happen. Marie Schuller (the director) was amazing at juggling a million things at once.

TH: Uncommon is known for making disruptive, anarchic, provocative work. How do you keep your creative ideas aligned to this every day, going to work with such high expectations!?

(T&C): We’ve always had high expectations for our work, even before we joined Uncommon. We have no interest in creating mediocre work. We’re in this industry to make great work that can inspire others. Essentially, we’re always striving to make work that we would love to see in the world.

TH: As a team, how do you approach a new brief?

(T&C): We like to interrogate the actual problem we need to solve. It might not be the first and most obvious thing. We also chat with other people, whether that’s co-workers or friends, to gather as many insights as possible. Then we look at inspiration in the world around us to find out how we can solve that problem in a creative and new way.

TH: Uncommon seems to create work at a prolific rate, does it feel like the agency works at 100mph?!

(T&C): Yes. But it is exciting. There are so many opportunities to actually produce work and not just create endless Google Slides decks that never see the light of day. Aaaaand we always make time for a pint, hehe.

TH: Is there a brand you would love to work with that you haven't yet, and why do they appeal to you?

(T&C): Would love to do more work with the music industry. Help build up a brand around an artist and find exciting new ways to publish them. We’re very inspired by how someone like Lil Nas X and his team does it.