The dog speaks

Firedog features on BBC Two – The fame with no shame

After a hard days graft at the office, I made my way home and sat down in front of the telly for some “switch off” time. It was not to be.

Having a look at the line up, I spotted a programme called The Fixer with Alex Polizzi on BBC Two. Mmm, I thought to myself, that rings a bell. A bridal shop. A mum with two daughters. More bells ringing. Then I recalled, last summer we were approached by Alex on behalf of Twofour to lend a hand in the making of a reality show. It was meant to screen this summer – So I was not exactly expecting my mug to be splashed across my Samsung in high definition. Does everyone look so, mmm, shiny?

If you haven’t seen the show – It’s a series featuring Alex who helps out struggling family run businesses. For the first episode, Alex is called in to help a failing family bridalwear business in Kettering, Northamptonshire. We feature in a few minutes of the story, at around 37mins to be precise. We worked together with the business advising on positioning and creating a hypothetical brand around their offer.

Alex and Cliff – Ok, let's hear it people!

It’s one of the funny things around creativity and reality TV, the way shooting and stories are condensed to a matter of minutes. I’m sure there are a few agencies out there right now, looking at us and figuring we are underminding the branding process. Yes, well – Maybe, but it’s still a 2 min slot on BBC Two and I’d be stupid not to take advantage of the fame! So, we sat down with the girls, repositioned the outfit with a Boutique offering, provided some advice on visual identity and aesthetics and watched them jet off to the next shoot location, mindful of their hectic schedule.

We’re grateful to Alex,Twofour and the BBC commissioners for our 15 minutes (Well, maybe seconds) of fame. Seeing my eldest daughter shriek with delight at the TV, and not at Dora the Explorer, mind you – That made me feel very “Celeb”.

Catch it on BBC iplayer, before it disappears into the corridors of the BBC forever!

Here are some more screengrabs!

The ladies from Courtyard express their brand ambitions

Desperately trying to look both intelligent and suave