The eschewing of personality-led advertising marks a departure for the iconic Yellow Pages brand and is the first work created by Mother, the agency it appointed last November.
Under the slogan "The people behind the numbers," the campaign aims to humanise the services that Yellow Pages advertises, by putting at its centre the people whose skills and enterprise make up big and small businesses across the UK.
Real people, including a plasterer from Edinburgh, a roofer from Newcastle and a cake-maker from London, were filmed in their day-to-day work. The edited vignettes were cut together to form a montage of stories. Called "the ode", the visuals are accompanied by a poem eulogising the skill, dedication, and customer service of today's businesses.
The voiceover is provided by Barry Marsh from Abbey Pest Control in Northern Ireland. The ad was directed by Nick Gordon, who has filmed music videos for band including Supergrass and Placebo, and media was planned and bought by PHD.
The 60-second ads are being broadcast from 9pm on March 15. On the same day, 40- and 60-second radio ads will make their debut and from March 26 a poster campaign will appear across the London Underground.
Nesbitt debuted in Yellow Pages' TV advertising in March 2003, riding a wave of popularity generate by TV drama 'Cold Feet', which he starred in. The campaign was created by Abbott Mead Vickers BBDO, which handled the account until Mother won the business last year.
Helen Stevenson, Yell's UK chief marketing officer, said: "Yell is in the business of connecting consumers with businesses, services and trades people. By shining a spotlight on the wealth of personalities and characters within our directories and database -- the 'people behind the numbers' -- we're ensuring the book is at the heart of modern UK life and remains relevant to today's consumers, giving them a reason to turn to the Yellow Pages brand again and again."
The advertising also introduces a revamped typeface for the Yellow Pages brand and the 118 24 7 number, and a "refreshed walking fingers" logo.
The new campaign does not cover Yell.com -- AKQA handles its advertising.
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