BBC To Paternity & Beyond

Working with the BBC on their Tiny Happy People initiative, the brief emerged from a clear insight: existing THP content wasn’t connecting with its intended audience of young dads. The challenge was to change that.

The creative solution was Al the Alien Midwife and the Intergalactic Maternity Ward — an adult-skewed animated series in which specific language and communication techniques, from talking to your bump to baby talk and babbling, became the springboard for a family of unique and grotesque alien characters. Each script topic reinforced a memorable, highly stylised visual device to help dads retain the information and feel encouraged to try the techniques themselves.

A focus group with the target demographic and an educational and medical expert confirmed the approach had landed. The concept felt like genuine entertainment rather than e-learning — the medical expert noting that the films were “so cleverly thought out and the animation is hilarious — but more importantly, gets the valuable information across.”

The success of the series led to an invitation to present the project alongside the BBC Director General to HRH the Duchess of Cambridge.