Mother Vision pushes ahead with TV projects

Mother Vision, the television and film arm of London-based advertising agency Mother London, his moving ahead with a number of TV projects including a a 26-part animated series for CBBC and a musical drama with Red planet Pictures and Universal.

Specific details about the project have yet to emerge but it is understood that the series, which is about to go into production, is being made with UK design consultancy Airside.

At the same time, Mother Vision is developing a music-based drama series with Red Planet Pictures, the production company of Life On Mars co-creator Tony Jordan, and Universal Music’s Globe Productions.

Mother Vision has another 13 or so TV and film projects in development including a feature starring one of the agency’s most beloved creations, the ITV Digital monkey, voiced by UK comic Johnny Vegas.

It recently hired Clare Bennett, who has worked for Richard Curtis for several years, as development executive. Bennett reports to Mother Vision creative director Al McCuish, who run the TV and film unit. Both Mother New York and Madre, Mother’s offshoot in Buenos Aires, also have Mother Vision projects in development.

The ad agency’s first feature, Somers Town, directed by Shane Meadows, won best feature at last month’s Edinburgh Film Festival. It was fully funded to the tune of about £500,000.

Robert Saville, founder of Mother – which also creates the Orange Film Funding Board ads – says that brands are going to have to become much more embedded in television and film rather than just sandwiched in-between programmes.

"We’d like to be seen as a home for creative people from any discipline who have a great story to tell or a smart idea – regardless of format and medium," Saville says. "It could be a feature, a television show, musical or book series. We would go out and find the appropriate partners to make it happen."

Tim Adler, London