Combining historical accuracy with modern irreverence, this new campaign repositions Portsmouth Historic Dockyard as a thrilling, must-visit experience for curious minds of all ages.
How do you get people excited about a 500-year-old shipwreck? Or the cannonball-struck mast of a 19th-century warship? You throw out the museum marketing rulebook, lean into a cheeky play on words, and run full steam ahead into the choppy waters of public opinion.
The new campaign for Portsmouth Historic Dockyard, which is home to one of the world’s most significant naval collections, takes a refreshingly unorthodox approach to showcasing the attraction’s crown jewels. From the HMS Victory and HMS Warrior to The Mary Rose, think of it as history, but not as you know it.
Using the word “ship” as a creative vehicle, SomeOne’s campaign headlines deliver big, knowing twists on common phrases. “Tough ship” accompanies HMS Warrior, the ironclad behemoth once deemed the most formidable ship of its time.
Meanwhile, “Oh ship!” appears next to HMS Victory’s damaged mast. If it feels like ship got real, that’s exactly the point.
“The aim of this work was to make people reconsider where they spend a day or several days out,” says Simon Manchipp, founding partner at SomeOne. “There was no merit in blending in with category norms, so we challenged the approach.”
Simon explains that the sector is often weighed down by predictability: smiling families in brochures, earnest calls to action, and the obligatory sepia-tone gravitas. In contrast, this campaign leans into emotional reaction.
“When people saw the scale or heard the history, they often gently swore to themselves in disbelief,” he adds. “It was this awe and wonder we looked to capture in the headlines.”
That insight forms the bedrock of a campaign that’s as playful as it is precise. Each key exhibit – from the Tudor wreck of The Mary Rose to the stealthy Cold War submarine HMS Alliance – is brought to life through its own unique colour palette and witty typographic treatment, forming a modular visual system that can flex across everything from out-of-home to social to print.
“Each has its own character and signature story,” says Simon. “We worked with historians to identify the key facts and then highlighted each of them through a distinct colour-coded execution. All united by a common ‘ship’ theme and visual operating system.”
There’s no doubt that there is a lot of craft behind the quips, and the team worked closely with animation partners Rokabye to create subtle moving visuals that nod to each ship’s story, from rising periscopes to splintered masts. According to Rich Rhodes, executive creative director at SomeOne, the historical detailing wasn’t just for show: “Once the initial impact of the unconventional headline lands, people have been swift to praise the obvious levels of detail.
“This was important so we could start to reflect the high-quality visits people experience.”
The campaign’s success is due to the balance between modern humour and historical integrity. Simon adds, “The new work looks to elevate rather than educate.
“We want to stimulate curiosity in audiences, not try to deeply educate via a poster. That’s for the visit, not the advertising.”
It’s a bold departure and one that’s paying off. Matthew Sheldon, CEO of the National Museum of the Royal Navy, calls it “the first campaign I have seen that really conveys the feeling” of being aboard these ships. Dominic Jones, CEO of the Mary Rose Trust, praises its ability to challenge sector norms: “Many visitor attractions communicate in a very predictable way… This created a campaign that challenges convention and has gained great positive reactions internally and externally as people re-evaluate the brand.”
The humour may be light-touch, but the ambition behind it is anything but. “Museums & Cultural Heritage over-index on the worthy, so they benefit from the amplification of the other side of the experience – namely, the fun,” Simon explains.
Meg Pepall, account manager at SomeOne, adds that this dual approach was key to the campaign’s longevity. “A visit is so multifaceted, with too much for anyone to really digest in a single day. We looked to create a new way for all assets and formats to serve many storylines.”
The result is a campaign that not only captures attention but also invites reappraisal. As Melvyn Johnson, senior designer at SomeOne, puts it: “Beyond the immediate visual impact of the ships, we discovered a trove of compelling stories beneath the surface… now was not the time to mince words in headlines.”
As a national institution with centuries of naval innovation, adventure, and tragedy in its hulls, Portsmouth Historic Dockyard could easily have stuck to traditional tones. Instead, it’s embracing a new voice—one that doesn’t whisper reverence but shouts curiosity.
