British Rail 'relax' by Saatchi & Saatchi
The highly acclaimed - and much awarded - 'relax" spot for British Rail's Intercity services, remains a testament to Charles Saatchi's intuitive feel for the right juxtaposition of words and pictures.
It all came together perfectly in this commercial which united the seemingly dissonant elements.
A chess-playing Hassidic Jew – a familiar touch from the eccentric but indulged director Tony Kaye – blended with a soundtrack of redneck blues, discovered by the then Saatchi & Saatchi senior creative Tim Mellors while on a shoot in Texas.
Beautifully shot in sepia monochrome, everything in the film combines to create a languorous mood.
Alas, the advertising failed to match the product with passengers complaining that the commercial bore little resemblance to their own experiences of travelling on BR.
