Craft was core to this idea. We looked to capture the truth of DIY in a stylised way, using heightened imagery to capture the feeling of overcoming doubts. Incorporating playful, evocative visual ideas. We took inspiration from films like Delicatessen, Amelie and the work of Roald Dahl - that almost childlike style. Wry and exaggerated. A fun take on self-doubt around DIY.

Since its inception, B&Q has been a brand that believes you can do it. But 50 years on, this phrase had never felt more important. B&Q’s research showed that 80% of people want to make changes in their homes, but only 36% feel like they can actually do it.

More than ever, people feel they have less time, less money, less motivation and more worry about what could go wrong. Consumer confidence was incredibly low, caused by a world telling us we “can’t”. iconic words play an important role in empowering those embarking on their home improvement journeys, giving them the confidence to tackle their DIY projects.

The film opens with a woman holding a sledgehammer facing an old wall in her home, acting metaphorically as her doubt, her fear and her can’t. A voiceover then casts shades of doubt over numerous home improvement scenarios, with people giving in to the ‘can’t’. Common moments of household worries take over, and the DIY challenges become more daunting — from a growing hallway, an excruciatingly small screw and an unruly garden — the fear they ‘can’t’ is too loud.

The film takes a gear shift — our protagonist picks up a sledgehammer it up and smashes through the wall in front of her — simultaneously any fear is crushed — leaving her believing ‘You Can Do It’. Home improvements begin throughout each scene, doors are sanded, wood is sawed, gardens are cut back and bathrooms are perfected. Doubt is ignored, and action has been taken because. ‘You Can Do

B&Q is the UK’s leading DIY retailer. Well known and loved in Britain, but as other players move into the market, it’s important that they continue to be the preferred choice by the market.

The main challenge was to continue to grow brand preference, and do so by reminding the nation that B&Q empower them to improve their homes however they require. Bringing back B&Q’s historic slogan “You can do it” and loading it with emotion and importance.

We used heightened imagery sparingly and to act as punctuation for the VO. For example, we stay in reality for “It’s too big, it’s too small, too hard, too soft” but use a more heightened surreal image for “it’s too disgusting”. In this way we can build a rhythm.

We escalated that rhythm as the film progressed. Introducing more flash-cuts to evocative images as the film and VO build in intensity, a crescendo of rising tension that earns the moment where people commit to their tasks and dive into DIY.