Penhaligon's campaign brings the joy and nostalgia of the seaside trips to locked-down Brits

A new campaign for British perfumers Penhaligon's managed to put getaways at its heart, despite the designers creating the entire thing from their home.

Creative studio Wildish & Co. – which specialises in graphic and web design from its studios in Hackney, East London, and Marlborough – was commissioned to bring the nostalgia-tinged joy of British seaside holidays to people at a time when travels to the coast (or indeed anywhere) were curtailed.

The campaign celebrates six Penhaligon's scents through representing each with a different quintessential British seaside town for its Wish You Were Here shoot. The creative idea looked to create that sense of gentle escapism while underscoring the heritage nature of the brand.

The destinations that were selected to shoot were Blackpool, Brighton, Whitstable, Scarborough, Cornwall and Margate to promote Penhaligon's classic range of Juniper Sling, Luna, Quercus, Artemis and Blenheim fragrances, respectively.

Penhaligon's tasked the studio with creating a mini brand world, which it art directed and photographed using models to create striking, charming little scenes. A model maker was brought in to recreate the six beaches in miniature, creating painstakingly detailed hand-painted pieces to bring the wee scenarios to life. Natural thy include the usual timeless seaside classics, like promenades, amusement arcades and donkey rides.

Wildish & Co. also created a custom postcard, stamp and a miniature-sized photograph used as the hero image for each fragrance and destination.

"This summer has been a write off for everyone, all around the world. When we think back to summers as a kid, there's nothing more nostalgic or quintessentially British than a beach staycation," says Wildish & Co. director Sam Fresco. "The Wish You Were Here campaign speaks directly to the collective memory we have as a nation, everyone stuck in lockdown together and everyone who can't get away this summer."

As such, the brand was able to reach people through the idea of an emotive nationwide shared experience as well as its scents.

"We had to embrace the character and charisma of each destination to achieve Penhaligon's vision of broadening our horizons with a mist of scent, without leaving home," Fresco adds.