Published 2nd May 2025

Thatchers Cider and Aardman collaborate on juicy new campaign

We've been back in the studio with Thatchers Cider for a juicy new campaign launching this week.

Airing for the first time over the bank holiday weekend, the new commercial transports viewers back to Thatchers’ home on Myrtle Farm in Somerset - but this time through the bright and colourful lens of Thatchers Juicy Apple, their brand-new sustainably crafted cider.

Building on the success of the previous Aardman campaigns for Thatchers, the new advert tells the story of how the deliciously mouth-watering cider is powered by sunshine, made using sun-drenched apples and 100% renewable electricity, including power from the 3,500 solar panels on the roof of Thatchers’ mill.

The adverts, which will go live on Friday 2 May 2025 on Broadcast Video on Demand TV, Netflix, Prime and YouTube, use our award-winning animation skills to bring a fresh side of Myrtle Farm to life.

We took inspiration from Thatchers’ Juicy Apple brand to create a world as if viewed through the lens of the mouth-wateringly crisp cider. We took the Juicy Apple cider colour palette and flat-graphic look and feel to visualise a sun-soaked world where the pints are always perfect.

The animated journey blends traditional hand-crafted 2D animation with 3D assets and After Effects to bring the beautiful visuals to life. A crisp and vibrant experience reflecting the seamless link between the sun-powered processing, the sun-drenched apples and the juiciest, tastiest cider. As in the real world, everything is connected to nature, from orchard to mill.

Director Dan Binns said: “It’s been such a joy to be part of this project. Aardman and Thatchers both share a real commitment to craft — blending tradition with innovation — which made for a perfect creative partnership. Bringing the vibrant, juicy apple world to life, with all its fizz, sparkle, and summery energy, has been a real treat.”

Martin Thatcher, fourth generation cider maker added; “It’s wonderful to be working with Aardman again. Being another South West company that not only shares our total commitment to perfection, but also renowned for crafting joyful moments, it could really only be them to do this cider justice.

“They have done a fantastic job of bringing this deliciously fresh, crisp new cider to life, immersing the viewer in the flavour and world of Juicy Apple so vividly I can almost taste it!”

Kate Cox, CEO of Bray Leino, which are Thatchers’ strategic, creative and media agency, and worked in partnership on the project, said: “As is always the case with Thatchers, their approach to crafting Juicy Apple was unique; brilliantly blending apple varieties and solar power. This inspired our team to create a wonderful concept and visual identity, that gives viewers a fresh glimpse into Myrtle Farm that they haven’t seen before. It’s another wonderful chapter in the Thatchers-Bray Leino-Aardman’ story. It’s sunny this weekend, and when sun shines Thatchers Juicy Apple is perfect, so get out there and enjoy!”

The commercial will be part of a multi-media campaign including video on demand and YouTube. This will be enhanced by outdoor advertising and a consumer focused social media campaign running across the summer.