We are hugely grateful to have been voted one of Sky TV’s Local Heroes, which meant winning our very first TV ad campaign. It goes live on 155 Sky TV channels this October.

We took a moment to catch up with Jess Lea-Wilson, our Brand Director (and star of the ad!) to find out a little more about what went on behind the scenes, and what the campaign means for the Halen Môn.

How did it feel to win Sky’s Zero Footprint Fund: Local Heroes?

 

When we found out our pitch had won in Wales, we were absolutely delighted — and honestly, a bit disbelieving. It’s a true game-changer for us. A TV ad is not something we would ever have been able to invest in by ourselves, so to have this opportunity felt surreal and very exciting. Once again, huge thanks to every single person who voted for us in the first round, we are so grateful, as well as the team at Sky for all their support.

 

Tell us a little bit about the team behind the advert? 

 

Many moons ago, I lived with a housemate in London called Laurens Grainger. Back then, most of our conversations were about cheap pints and whose turn it was to take the bins out (always Larry’s). But even then, I begrudgingly knew he was probably very good at his job.

Fast forward a decade: we sent Larry some parameters to work within. We needed to show clearly that Halen Môn is Anglesey Sea Salt (we still get asked about this!) and that our product is a cut above the competition. Larry came back with a handful of clever concepts — and one clear standout. Everyone we showed it to loved it immediately.

The production company he recommended were brilliant – they took the idea and made it sing.

What is the idea behind the ad?

Larry wanted to put the sea front and centre — because it really is the star of the show. It’s the only ingredient we use for our Pure Sea Salt, and giving it “main character energy” felt exactly right.

We’re proud of our Protected Designation of Origin status, but it’s not always easy to explain. So we leaned into one bold, simple message: Halen Môn is the Champagne of sea salts.

The final ad doesn’t show food, doesn’t feature a product shot, and doesn’t have a typical storyline. That was deliberate. A risk maybe, but one we hope pays off with a bold statement.

 

Can you describe the biggest challenge of bringing this project to life?

Something we hadn’t envisaged was just how much we’d learn throughout the process – from the pre-production conversations right down to the advert profiling.  With Sky’s brilliant budget behind us, we had room to play — but when you realise that some brands spend hundreds of thousands on a single ad, you realise quickly you need to get creative to make every penny count.

 

What do you hope people will see in the advert?

We hope the film conveys the pride our whole team have — not just in our salt, but in our island and its provenance. 

 

What was it like to film in the Menai Strait?

Cold! Ha. But absolutely beautiful and thankfully there was always a lifeguard nearby — and plenty of Pump Street hot chocolate to warm up afterwards.

How many people does it take to make an advert?

A village!

Director – Frederick Paxton
Production co – Academy films
Exec Producer – Darapen Vongsa-Nga
Producer- Colum Ewart
Production Manager – Mali Davies
Creative – Laurens Grainger/ Alicia Cliffe
DOP – Thom Neal
First AC – Ollie Pearson
Boat pilot 1 – Nick Gornall
Boat pilot 2 – David Lea-Wilson
Life guards – Zac and Roger Price
Swimmer – Jess Lea-Wilson
Offline edit – The Assembly Rooms
Offline producer – Ella Kean
Editor – Tamara Eshida
Online producer – Heather Brown
Online + VFX – 1920vfx
Colourist – Kai Van Beers
Sound – No8
Sound producer – Karen Noden
Sound engineer – Sam Robson
Sound studio Wales -Stiwdio Un

 

Catch our ad on Sky channels this autumn, or watch it for yourself here.