The winner of BEST DIGITAL COMMERCIAL OR SINGLE BRANDED VIDEO at the first-ever TellyCast Digital Video Awards is Van Wife, a creative collaboration between Merman, APX Content Ventures, LADbible and Women’s Aid
Presented during a ceremony at The Londoner, Leicester Square, hosted by Max Fosh, the award honours videos that effectively communicate a brand’s message while resonating with the social audience. All seven finalists showed strong alignment between brand values and video content, delivering measurable impact in reach, engagement and recognition.
As for the winner, Women’s Aid wanted to make a short, scripted film to mark its 50-year anniversary and raise awareness of how friends can spot signs of coercive control within relationships. Impressed with the portrayal of domestic abuse in the hit series Bad Sisters on Apple TV, Women’s Aid approached Merman, to write and produce a 10-minute film to expose red flags of abuse in a fictional coercive relationship.
Many of Merman staff (all female) agreed to work pro bono however there was still a budget deficit for making the film. APX Content Ventures have financed other Merman productions and were approached to find a solution to financing and distribution of the film. APX engaged LADbible, based on the quality of their proposed campaign ‘Spot the Flags’ to support the film Van Wife and maximise the reach of the audience for Women’s Aid campaign to target 16 – 25s.
In addition to the hero short film, Merman and LADbible also produced integrated social content that worked as a teaser. The film and supporting content created a halo of effect, spreading the story further, reaching people in a multifaceted social first way that made measurable impact.
