Almost the happiest minute!

Do you remember those quirky head bopper things that were big in the 80’s? Well, who would have thought that this would be the item which would lead to an exciting couple of days… and (almost) the “Happiest Minute” for Just Add Print!

I was doing some quotes when my phone rang. “Hello, is that Nicola? I’m from Ant & Dec’s Saturday Night Takeaway, on ITV? Do you have a minute?” 

It all started two weeks before the first live show. There is a segment of the show called the "Happiest Minute”. This is where (for those that don’t watch it!) the presenters, Ant & Dec, give away places on the plane to the audience or viewers, for a spectacular holiday as part of the last episode in the series. It’s all very fast paced and jolly. 

The producers wanted every audience member to wear head boppers during this Minute. They’d seen that I had some on my website (www.justaddprint.co.uk) and they were phoning to see if I could help them come up with a bespoke head bopper design to not only fit in with the holiday theme but also stand out on camera. 

And so began two busy days… I went back and forth with design ideas, aware that the live show was due to go on air in less than a fortnight, so the deadline was extremely tight.

I was thoroughly excited by all this as I love the show, so really wanted to win this business. I pride myself on being super helpful to all my clients and I pulled out all the stops. Working with my very reliable printer and his/her talented and amazing graphics team, we provided all the requested designs.  The ITV creative team were pleased with what they saw, and everything was looking great, until….

…my inbox pinged at 5pm, 5 days before the show. I was gutted to see that after all our hard work, the creative team had decided to go in a different direction. They thanked me for my help.

Of course I was disappointed but I totally understood. I have been there, as the customer, and know that sometimes rushing creative ideas at the last minute does not always work. I understand that until you have tried out an idea, you can’t always decide it if it works for you or not.

I waited with baited breath for the first live show to see what they were going to use, if they had gone to a competitor for the same thing, but was relieved to see the items the audience were wearing were not bespoke promotional merchandise but items that could be bought off the internet with a holiday theme. 

The good news is that the producers were grateful for all I’d done. They said I’d been very helpful and promised to keep Just Add Print’s details on file because they might want to contact me in the future.  So who knows what could happen next! Perhaps my “Happiest Minute” is just around the corner after all.

All in all, the thrill of possibly working with ITV on this show has stayed with me. And all because of these funny headbopper things!

Released On 6th Mar 2023