Channel 4 B Corp TV winners: “This is going to irritate the rest”

The B Corp businesses making their TV advertising debut on Channel 4 this weekend expect the ads to build awareness, shift stock and, in one case, provoke a reaction from rivals.

Ads from Faith in Nature, Holy Moly Dips, Klyk, Suri and TOTM will premiere together in an ad-break takeover during The Great Celebrity Pottery Throw Down on Sunday evening. The five won the second iteration of Channel 4 Sales’ B Corp competition, run in partnership with B Lab UK, the non-profit behind the UK B Corp movement.

The takeover forms part of a prize pot of £600,000 worth of Channel 4 advertising airtime. The individual ads will later run on Channel 4’s streaming platform in bespoke placements chosen to help each business reach its target audience.

Channel 4 Sales awards TV advertising airtime to its B Corp competition winners

Speaking exclusively to The Media Leader, Holly Rix, chief marketing officer at period-care brand TOTM, said the brand was “expecting a little bit of pushback, if we’re honest”.

Its ad, “Natural Wonder”, produced by Insiders, is styled as a retro American infomercial in which a park ranger likens the vagina to a ravine and ties it to the principle of leaving no trace.

Rix said: “As far as we know, this is the first time tampon fibre shedding has been discussed in advertising. And as the only tampon brand designed to not leave any fibres behind, this is going to irritate the rest of the category (pun intended).”

Make it mainstream

Rix described the win as the “manifestation” of TOTM’s single objective for 2026: to “make it mainstream”.

She said: “We had ambitions to change this plucky Welsh brand from something niche for eco warriors into a mainstream brand with women’s health at the centre. Winning this competition has meant we can take our message to a mainstream audience and funnily enough, our core target audience are definitely already watching and engaging in Channel 4 content, where they are primed to expect disruptive, provocative and challenging narratives.”

Making a first TV ad was not straightforward. Rix said: “Navigating regulatory approvals was a learning experience and necessitated a great deal of time and effort. Our creative changed as a result, and needed to be delivered within a tight time frame.”

After the campaign, TOTM wants its product taken seriously as an alternative to market leader Tampax, built around its newly launched compact applicator tampons. Rix said: “We’re hoping to have retailers demand deeper distribution and new listings so our Cottonlock 360° technology is available to more women.”

From Mony Mony to Holy Moly

For guacamole brand Holy Moly, the win has fast-tracked an idea three years in the making: turning the 60s hit Mony Mony into a “Holy Moly” brand song.

Chris Busher, head of marketing at Holy Moly, said: “We would never have been able to justify the expense of a TV production without winning this competition, so it’s brought our ambitions for being on television forward by about three years.”

The fully animated ad, “Who Knew Avocado Could Be This Good?”, was made without a creative agency. Busher explained: “The idea came straight from the Holy Moly team, and we worked directly with Myth Studio and Rhydian Evetts to bring it to life.”

The biggest surprise, he said, was “how much time [you] can spend discussing the most tiny aspect of an animation”, adding: “We had proper, serious conversations about how the animated boat should look, or how the avocado should fly across the screen.”

The brand’s 16-strong team will hold its own office premiere on Sunday, while key customers are being sent boxes of popcorn and guacamole to watch along live.

Busher wants the song to become a long-term platform, with radio the next step and the brand recently launched in Australia, France and the Republic of Ireland. He said: “We want this to be the start, not a one-off. It took us three years to get this idea on screen, and we’d love it to be our brand platform for the next three.”

No single blueprint

Tom Patterson, sustainability lead at Channel 4 Sales, told The Media Leader the scheme was designed to show “that TV can be a powerful growth platform for ambitious businesses of all sizes”.

He said: “Year one was about establishing the concept and understanding its potential. Year two has been about scaling the ambition. And the quality of entries has just kept growing.”

On the lessons of bringing small businesses to TV, he added: “One of the biggest lessons has been that there’s no single blueprint for bringing a growing business to TV.

“Each of the brands approached the opportunity differently, but they all shared a willingness to be ambitious, learn quickly and adapt throughout the process. What we’ve seen is that, with the right support, SMEs can navigate that journey successfully and gain valuable experience along the way.

“The result is, these businesses have produced some of the freshest, bravest and most authentic creative work. The opportunity is huge, and TV remains one of the fastest ways to turn a ‘niche’ brand into a household name.”

Ros Holley, director of marketing and communications at B Lab UK, said: “We’re so excited to see these ads come together on screen, demonstrating the size and scope of the B Corp community. We hope this unique ad break will help even more people to seek out businesses that are committed to doing better for people and the planet.”

The other ads

Faith in Nature’s “Bees R Good”, produced by Blink Productions, reworks The Shamen’s 90s rave anthem Ebeneezer Goode around the message that nature makes us feel good, with a cast of the brand’s employees and friends.

Klyk’s “Hang in There” follows an office manager guided by a talking cat poster towards a circular IT service that refurbishes devices, donates technology to schools and cuts both costs and carbon.

Suri’s “Designed for Life”, produced by Joan Creative, follows one woman’s daily routine, built on the idea that an intentional oral-care ritual at the start and end of the day sets people up for whatever follows.

The competition’s first year was won by Ancient + Brave, Divine, Seep, Ticket Tailor and Tiny Rebel. Sonder research on that campaign found 88% of viewers reported an improved opinion of B Corps, and 85% said they were more likely to consider buying from one.

The Media Leader’s content director, James Longhurst, sat on this year’s judging panel alongside representatives from 4Creative, the Advertising Association, B Lab UK, Channel 4 Sales, Factory Studios and Sonder.

Asked who was his favourite judge, Patterson said: “Absolutely impossible to say. The judging panel brought together experts from advertising, creativity, sustainability and business, and every one of them helped make the winners stronger. Besides, picking a favourite judge feels like asking a Channel 4 commissioner to pick a favourite programme… dangerous territory.”