Massive aggressive notes appear on the side of houses

Nation.Cymru staff

When mysterious, and insulting, oversized notes began appearing on the side of two ordinary houses earlier this week, passersby were intrigued – and it appears a famous Welshman is to blame.

Speculation spread online as the slanging match intensified over the course of a week.

It was revealed that the messages on the houses in Salford were actually a part of a highly original campaign from Channel 4’s creative and marketing teams to promote Russell T Davies’ new drama Tip Toe – and that the notes were written by the Welsh wordsmith himself.

The campaign, titled Massive Aggressive Notes, reflects the neighbourly antagonism at the heart of Russell’s gripping new series and takes the highly original approach of revealing the salacious storylines and introducing the public to its main protagonists, Leo (Alan Cumming) and Clive (David Morrissey), before the show airs on May 31.

The messages capture the escalating tensions of the series as an ordinary suburban dispute spirals dangerously out of control.

The notes are five metres tall and were made by award-winning Immersive activations & Public art specialists Creative Giants.

David Wigglesworth, ECD & Creative Partner, 4Creative, said: ‘Nothing gets the curtains twitching faster than a neighbourly dispute. Watching seemingly ordinary people spiral into pettiness, paranoia and confrontation is oddly irresistible.

‘That insight felt like the perfect way to welcome the world to Tip Toe. And once Russell agreed to write the notes himself, the whole thing started to feel less like a campaign and more like a piece of suburban performance art, with something much darker lurking beneath the open insults.’

Miketta Lane, Director of 4Creative said: ‘This campaign takes the emotional heart of Russell’s storytelling and amplifies it into the real world through craft-led execution and deep collaboration across our teams and production partners. Playing on our “love thy neighbour” idea, it blurs the line between fiction and reality – turning everyday tension into something culturally resonant and disruptive. With a shared ambition, we’ve created a campaign designed to live beyond traditional media and get people talking.’

Nic Moran, Head of Marketing, Brand & Content, Channel 4 said: ‘The creative brings to life the escalating neighbour dispute at the heart of the series through oversized “petty notes” that feel instantly recognisable to anyone who has experienced tensions close to home. The campaign is further amplified through LADbible, alongside flyposters, digital escalator panels, and high impact sites all anchored by the campaign strapline, Love Thy Neighbour.

‘To deepen audience intrigue, messages written by Russell and posted under Clive and Leo’s names appeared across Reddit communities, blurring the line between fiction and reality. The campaign also features a keyed Volvo used as media space, with the show title scratched directly into the paintwork as though caught in the middle of the feud itself.’

Tip Toe, from the multi award-winning Russell T Davies (It’s A Sin, Queer as Folk, Doctor Who), is produced by Quay Street Productions (part of ITV Studios) and executive produced by Nicola Shindler (Queer as Folk, It’s A Sin, Fool Me Once).

The five-part series is directed by Peter Hoar (It’s A Sin, The Last of Us, Nolly) and follows Leo and Clive who live next door to each other in Manchester.

Leo runs a bar on Canal Street, Clive’s an electrician, with two teenage sons. But just as life should be settling down, the world around them is growing more tense. Words become weapons, opinions become radicalised, and gradually, two neighbours become deadly enemies in a tense, suburban thriller which challenges everything we consider to be safe.

The series, populated with a cast of vibrant characters and underscored with Davies’ trademark wit and deft humour, is an urgent yet gripping tale that brings a spotlight to bear on the re-emergence of an incipient threat.

Tip Toe airs on Channel 4 from Sunday, May 31 at 9pm.