SWIFTY FOR MAYOR — RYOBI® AND McCANN ANNOUNCE DOCUMENTARY SHOWCASING A SPOT CLEANER’S RUN FOR OFFICE

Teaser trailer drops today for unexpected documentary following Swifty’s real campaign to ‘Take Care of Staines’ – full film premieres this November

Two months of campaigning. 29,000 doorsteps. One absurd candidate that got a whole town to care about politics again. Following McCann’s campaign that saw a RYOBI® spot cleaner stand as an independent candidate for mayor in a local election, the brand and agency now turn the cameras on the movement itself – with a documentary asking whether a power tool really can change the face of politics.

McCann in Birmingham and RYOBI® have released the first trailer for “Swifty for Mayor,” a hilarious documentary following Swifty, the RYOBI® spot cleaner who stood as an independent candidate in the local elections in Staines – a town 17 miles west of London – earlier this year, from campaign launch through to election day.

The documentary goes behind the scenes of Swifty‘s real-world campaign “Taking Care of Staines,” which flipped political theatre on its head by focusing on a refreshingly simple idea: showing up and cleaning up for your community and supporting those who are already working hard to keep Staines clean, cared for, and connected.

With voter turnout at an all-time low and 60% of citizens* saying they don’t know who to vote for, the initiative set out to make a serious point in an unserious way: a town bored of politics needed a candidate it could actually trust. Enter Swifty — the perfect candidate to take care of Staines.

The idea was rooted in a simple truth: RYOBI® is based less than 20 minutes from Staines. As neighbours, the brand believed it could do more than talk about community support, it could actively contribute to it. After all, that’s what neighbours do: they help each other out and lend each other tools.

During the full-fledged political campaign, which included OOH, TV interviews, radio, and geotargeted media, Swifty’s dedicated RYOBI® clean squad crisscrossed the town of Staines in a never-seen-before practical product demo. But while the campaign was a smart demonstration of the product in action, it was also an authentic demonstration of the brand’s purpose. By delivering free cleaning support to community groups and charities, freshening up community spaces, and cleaning public areas and gardens, Swifty became a demonstration of purpose in a typically dry category. No forms and no strings attached: every organisation visited keeps the RYOBI® tools left behind for good.

Through humour and cultural relevance, the project made it clear: sometimes the most effective brand behaviour isn’t taking a side, but taking responsibility. What emerges on screen is a documentary that’s committed to the bit – a hilarious, unlikely gem of a film that argues the best campaigns aren’t about talking, but doing.

Shot over the course of the 3-month local election, the documentary will capture the volunteers who put the campaign to the test, the reaction on the ground, and what happened when polling day finally arrived, all led by director and comedian Ben Fogg, who despite breaking his arm along the way, persevered in attempt to win the people of Staines the mayor they deserve.

The teaser is available to view now on RYOBI®’s YouTube channels. The full documentary will premiere in November 2026, with further details on the release date and where to watch to be announced.

Adam Bodfish, Executive Creative Director at McCann in Birmingham, said: “The truth is that people in Staines were bored of politics and looking for something new. We took that truth and instead of the “dirty politics” we often see, we tried a different approach  – and were honest enough to let the cameras follow it all the way to polling day.”

Tom Leather, Director at RYOBI®, added: “RYOBI is based 20 minutes up the road from Staines, so we consider them our neighbours and wanted to help. It’s quite normal to lend your neighbours your tools, in this case, we’ve done just that on an epic scale.”

“Swifty for Mayor” was directed by Ben Fogg and produced by Shaven Ape. The teaser and full documentary sit alongside the wider ‘Taking Care of Staines’ initiative, which ran across OOH, social, radio and PR throughout the Spelthorne election period.

*According to YouGov.

Source: McCann

  Advertising, Campaign, Marketing, McCann, McCann Birmingham, RYOBI, UK