British comedian Bob Monkhouse has come back from the dead to appear in a new television campaign for Prostate Cancer Research Foundation, Give A Few Bob. The TV advert blends footage of Monkhouse with shots of a body double taken in a graveyard in Surrey, voiced by a sound-alike actor.

Monkhouse stands in a graveyard by his own headstone saying, “Just when you thought it was safe to turn on your TV again, here I am. Gosh, four years already, doesn’t time fly. I wanted to die like my father, quietly, in his sleep – not screaming and terrified like his passengers.”

We see black and white footage from silent films, a reference to the TV show Monkhouse hosted, “Mad Movies”.

Monkhouse continues, “What killed me kills one man per hour in Britain. That’s even more than my wife’s cooking. Let’s face it, as a comedian, I died many deaths. Prostate cancer, I don’t recommend. I’d have paid good money to stay out of here. What’s it worth to you?”

Click on the image below to play the video.



Monkhouse’s widow Jackie, 70, told The Sun: “When I was approached about the Give A Few Bob campaign I felt it would be a great honour for my husband. Bob would love this ad. It’s funny but has a serious message about the threat of prostate cancer. They’ve done a fabulous job bringing my Bob back – although there’s a bulge in the lapel of his jacket he wouldn’t have stood for. I have the original upstairs and it fitted him like a glove.”

Credits

The Give a Bob campaign was developed at The Communications Agency, by creative Alan Curson, account director Caroline Jenkins.

The creative team were inspired by BBC Radio 2 TV advert in which Elvis Presley appeared on stage with the Sugababes and Noel Gallagher, and invited the director of that ad to recreate Bob Monkhouse.

Filming was directed by Steve Cope via Red Bee Media, with producer Bridie Harrison, director of photography Clive Norman.

Editing was done by Tim Hardy and Chris McKay at Cut & Run.

Post production was done at The Mill, London, by producer Lee Pavey, colorist Seamus O’Kane, flame artists Gary Driver, Neil Davis, David Birkhill, Paul Sullivan, and Shake technician Darren Christie.

The majority of the flame work was completed by Neil Davies and Gary Driver at The Mill in London. Director Steve Cope shot the many back plates in the graveyard and surrounding area that make up the background in the commercial. Referencing old footage of Bob, The London flame team skillfully brought him back to life by compositing him into the majority of the shots, and matching his lips to those of the voice-over. The graveyard was also shot as a back-plate and the London flame team added extra headstones, sky, trees, pigeons and flowers to enhance many of the shots.

Emma Hall, Chief Executive of the Prostate Cancer Research Foundation, is responsible for running the organisation on a day to day basis, from raising funds, implementing future strategies and masterminding the publicity drive to raise public awareness of the Prostate Cancer Research Foundation’s efforts at eliminating prostate cancer. In the interests of prostate cancer research she’s encouraging viewers to send the Monkhouse video to as many friends as possible, visit the fund raising web site www.giveafewbob.org, and give financial support to the Foundation’s research programme. “There is so much we don’t know about the prostate”, she said.