Paul Whitehouse

Fish & Feast on the River Test

UK · 2024

A day of fly fishing on the River Test with comedy legend Paul Whitehouse, followed by cooking the catch over fire and a three-course lunch at a riverside pub. Fans could win a place on the day.

Agency

Billion Dollar Boy
Production: Toast

Market

United Kingdom
UK. Launched February 2024, shot in Stockbridge, Hampshire in December 2023

Deliverables

60s hero film, social cutdowns in multiple aspect ratios, organic TikTok, title cards, web loop, campaign stills

Channels

VOD, YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, PR

My role

Senior Art Director, from first concept to final stills.

Developed the video and imagery side of the shoot, including the choice of director and photographer
Reviewed the agency's storyboards, title cards and photography direction, from the riverbank opening to the pub outro
On set in Stockbridge to support and guide the creative across fishing, cooking and the pub
Curated the 20-image selection, half with Paul and half without, so every channel had what it needed, and recommended the homepage banner
Wrote the retouching brief and led two to three rounds of feedback per image until each was approved
Saw the landing page and videos through to launch

The film

Hero film. Paul meets the guests at The Greyhound on the Test, kits them out in waders and takes them fly fishing for grayling on the river. Hunter-gatherer cook Nick Weston shows them how to plank and fire-cook their catch, and the day ends around the fire in the pub.

15s Cutdown version: YouTube

Creator-led socials

Credit:
adam.floatinghome (via Instagram)

Credit:
eatingwithtod (via Instagram)

Credit:
getyourguide (via TikTok)

The idea

The Test is one of England's best-known chalk streams, and Paul Whitehouse has fished it for about 30 years. He bought a half-rod there as a birthday present for his father, and millions know him as a fisherman from Gone Fishing with Bob Mortimer.

So the experience was built from his real life rather than a script: his river, his pub and his way of fishing. It was one of the first Originals by GetYourGuide, experiences you can't book anywhere else, hosted by someone with a real tie to the place. It also promoted food experiences in the UK, at a time when 90% of Brits said they wanted to escape the daily grind for nature.

The film had to sell the full day in under a minute (fish, cook, pub, eat) and still feel as calm as a morning on the river.

From storyboard to shoot

Photography by Jack Terry

The selection followed the three moments of the day: fishing, cooking and dinner. Of the 20 images, half feature Paul and half don't, so the set worked for channels with and without talent. After I wrote an editing brief for each of the 20 images and took them through two to three rounds of feedback with the retoucher, the images went to the current DAM tool for use across channels.

Morning on the Test

Paul by the river, with the mist still lifting off the water. This was the image that set the grade for the whole series: a crisp winter morning that still feels warm. The red in his scarf is matched to GetYourGuide's Guiding red.

Nailing it

In Nick Weston's workshop by the river, the guests fix the fillets to wooden planks with herbs and lemon, ready for the fire.

Choosing the fly

Before the first cast, Paul opens his fly box and talks the group through which fly to tie on. The guests lean in, rods in hand.

Smoke and planks

Trout cooking upright over an open fire, the old way, with nettles, sage and lemon.

On the bank

Two guests share a laugh on the riverbank. It's one of the frames without Paul, made for channels where the experience has to stand on its own.

Supper at The Greyhound

The day ends by candlelight in the pub, with Nick bringing the catch to the table and Paul in good company.

Beyond the film

Raffle and giveaway Places were free. A raffle on GetYourGuide.com opened on 28 February 2024 for sessions on 9 March and 27 April. A social giveaway on Instagram and TikTok ran from 11 to 24 March, open in the UK and the US, for two places on 27 April.

Landing page and homepage The experience had its own Originals landing page and a homepage banner built from the stills.

Press Journalists from The Spectator and Crave Magazine joined Paul on the river. The Spectator ran a riverside interview about fishing, his father and the river's chalk-stream ecology.

Impact and press

Coverage included The Spectator, the i, Country Living, Crave Magazine and Opulence Magazine.

Behind the scenes

On location with Paul Whitehouse.

Checking the storyboards and script by the monitor.

On the set, checking image banner options with layout overlay on CaptureOne.

Crew on the set.

Credits

All campaign work shown was created for GetYourGuide and is © GetYourGuide. Shown here as a record of my role. Rights holders: if you’d like anything changed or removed, please email theo@theoklingenberg.com and I’ll act promptly.

Creative Director
Danna Blum

Creative Storytelling Lead
Laura Messer-Jackson

Senior Art Director
Theo Klingenberg

Senior Creative Operations Manager
Krete Päeske

Brand Market Lead
Tom Cooke

Agency: Billion Dollar Boy

Creative Lead: Claude Coleman
Senior Creative: Brooke Clark
Production Director: Sasha Dunn
Talent Partnerships Director: Sophie Crowther
Senior Account Director: Maxime Rozencwajg
Account Directors: Reka Sardy

Production: Toast

Director: Tom Sweetland
Executive Producer: Anna Martin
Producer: Heather Clark
Director of Photography: Dominic John
Grooming: Olivia Todd

Stills: Jack Terry

Paul Whitehouse

Fish & Feast on the River Test

My role