Corby Glen has a starring role in Cadbury Christmas advert
Corby Glen is playing a starring role in a major Christmas advertising campaign created by confectionary giant Cadbury.
The village, on the outskirts of Bourne, is the location for a short film which tells the story of a girl called Maribel who decided to surprise local residents with a lorry-load of chocolate treats.
The centre of Corby Glen came to a standstill on the afternoon of November 9 when the footage was shot – and villagers were invited along to star in the commercial.
In the film, Maribel hand delivers posters to local homes urging people to meet in the Market Place. As dozens line the streets, a Cadbury lorry turns up and, much to the delight of children, staff start handing out chocolate bars to everyone in attendance.
As part of the ‘Cadvent’ campaign, a new video is being published online every day until Christmas Eve. Corby Glen’s film was released on December 5.
The commercial was made by London-based TV production company Bare Films.
Producer Tim Marshall, who was born in Stamford and went to school in Bourne, said he was delighted to be able to shoot footage in Corby Glen.
He said: “I live in north London now but my family still live in the area and it’s still a place that’s very close to my heart. It was obviously a fantastic surprise to see children’s wishes coming in from the area that I grew up in.
“We’ve been all over the country visiting different children with different wishes and our film crew has been capturing the whole process.
“We’ve had some really amazing wishes to capture on film and it’s really wonderful to see the final films appearing each day, behind the calendar doors on the Cadvent Tumblr page.
“The turnout from the local community was unbelievable, we were overwhelmed with the fantastic support that we received. Moreover, the child who made the wish was over the moon at the sheer amount of people that turned up to see her wish come to life as the Cadbury chocolate truck arrived in the village square!”
Corby Glen Parish Council chairman Steve Honeywood said he believed it was the first time the village had been used as a backdrop for a TV advert.
He said: “The children involved in the filming certainly seemed to be enjoying it and will, no doubt, have been looking out for themselves in the advert.”
Steve said not everyone was happy about the number of vehicles parked in the village during the shoot, but added: “If a company should ask about using a public area in Corby as a backdrop in the future, we will be in a better position to make sure that residents and businesses in the location are fully consulted in advance.
“Overall, it was something very different for the village – and it certainly caused a stir on a damp November day!”
