Mini star George helps Lancashire team win a world video award

Mellor Media, based at Olympic Court at the Whitehills Business Park, near Blackpool, started trading days before the first lockdown hit.

Owner Sam Mellor, 35, from Lytham, created the video production company after being forced to quit as a PGA golf professional due to serious injury.

Despite the lockdowns, the company has found itself in demand, creating video and digital content for many global brands in the fitness and golf sectors such as CrossFit, Tyson Fury Boxing, Anytime Fitness Gyms, Garmin and GolfMagic, as well as local companies Easigrass, Lytham House and Huntsman barbers.

Sam’s work with Bowker Mini in Preston to show off the new electric Mini, ended up winning the company this year’s World Mini Social Media Competition to produce and share the best video on social media.

The accolade acknowledged Bowker Mini’s video featuring a rescue dog called George as the best from more than 40 entries and resulted in the Bowker team going to Munich to receive the prize.

The video features George, a terrier abandoned by previous owners nine years ago, and his owner and fellow acting debutante Jess O’Neill, marketing executive at Bowker Motor Group.

Jess said: “George loved every minute of the video shoot. It was almost as though he could tell he was involved in a winning production.

“The humans in the video knew it would take something special to win a world title. That’s why we’re all so proud to be honoured with the prize.”

The video celebrated the feeling motorists get when they collect a new car and showed Jess and George driving past Lancashire beauty spots and landmarks.

Sam Mellor said: “It was great to win. The idea to use George came from Jess. We shot the new electric Mini adventure round Preston and the Fylde in just one day. George, and Jess, were a pleasure to work with.

"I set up Mellor Media in January 2020 as no-one locally was doing this sort of exciting, engaging and creative video content. Then lockdown happened which was scary, but as it happened, a lot of business had to go online and that helped me.

“I have worked with Floyd Mayweather and Tyson Fury on their tours, among others.

“I had played golf since I was two, I worked as a professional at worked at Herons Reach and Trafford Golf Centre, but I got a shoulder injury. I lost one passion, but gained another with video.”

James Grant, Mini Retailer marketing manager for BMW Group United Kingdom said: “Congratulations to George the rescue dog and the team at Bowker MINI for their winning video. The competition challenged MINI centres throughout the world to develop influencer content then share on their social channels. The Bowker MINI video was judged as the most creative and innovative."