Last night Dusted appeared on the latest episode of BBC’s hit business TV show ‘The Apprentice’, as Lord Sugar asked the candidates to come up with innovative dog food brands to pitch to major high street retailers. Our design team was tasked with creating two separate logos, advertising and brand assets in a single, intense and high-pressure day, proving that, at Dusted, anything is paw-sible!
Production kicked off last summer after Dusted was approached by the show’s producers, Naked/Fremantle, to discuss a possible collaboration to host and provide creative infrastructure for two competing teams required to create branding, identity and packaging designs for the dog food market. After a rigorous vetting process and numerous studio visits, we were delighted to be selected and scheduled to feature in this season’s 10th episode.
On the day, the participants arrived at the City of London-based Dusted studio – or as the voiceover announced ‘Award-winning branding agency Dusted’, based on our multiple Gold award-winning work recognised by Transform Europe. In our London City studio, we facilitated two separate workspaces, so the competing teams couldn’t interact with each other or see what was being done by the opposing team. A good portion of the production work went into figuring out the “set design” highlighting our creative workspace as the perfect backdrop to the branding and design-centred episode. But with our headquarters situated in the UK’s business and enterprise epicentre, between the Gherkin and the Cheesegrater, we had plenty of angles to offer.
Throughout the filming process, with limited time and creative resources, our two designers had to strictly follow the contestants’ specific briefing, design selection and direction under the watchful eyes of the camera crew and producer. Very challenging for the contestants given this is usually a rigorous process spanning weeks and usually driven by the agency team, so hats off to them.
One team worked with Marnie Swindells, Rochelle Anthony and Victoria Goulbourne on their gourmet ‘Chef Barking’ brand, while the second team were tasked by Simba Rwambiwa, Megan Hornby and Dani Donovan to create branding and design assets for the insect-based ‘Pro-Paw’. The two design teams had to be super flexible and adaptable as the candidates dictated their every move while keeping cool in the process.
Creative process aside, the design team took this experience as an insightful look behind-the-scenes at the level of production required for a top BBC TV series and how they capture the many moving parts needed to create the polished final edit. Everybody was fascinated by the practicalities of how the show was produced, from shot planning with the producers, film crews and camera operators to the AV connectivity, lighting rig and sound engineering technology.
Dusted also deliver a wide variety of motion design services, animation and brand-driven films in both B2B and B2C, from brand spirit films and product activation to CGI animation and car launch ads, so we had a high degree of knowledge already. Having now watched the final episode, it’s amazing how the Naked team have transformed and edited the hours of disparate footage into a succinct, entertaining and seamless piece of TV.
Finally, Team Dusted were grateful for the experience, which was a real privilege as long-time fans of the show, and we wish all the candidates involved the very best of luck in the series finale and of course their future business endeavours.
If you would like to see which candidates were top dogs and which made a dog’s dinner of things, you can stream the episode on BBC iPlayer.
Work with us.
The good news. We are not usually surrounded by a camera crew and a lighting team on a clock, while we help brands answer questions like ‘Why you?’ and ‘Where next?’. Dusted is a brand design agency working with some of the most ambitious, innovative and game-changing businesses and brands in the world, blending strategy, creativity and technology to solve their branding and multi-channel activation challenges.
Here are some links to a bit more information about us and the award-winning work we do for our award-winning clients:
If you’re interested in our services and wish to collaborate, don’t hesitate to get in touch!
