Shutterfly is focusing on life's not-so-picture-perfect moments as part of what the brand calls its largest campaign ever. The retailer, which sells photography products from pillows to photo albums to posters, wants to emphasize the value of personalization, pushing shoppers to lean into their inside jokes and least-planned portraits, immortalizing them in a photo album or mug or puzzle. 

The campaign, called “Make it a Thing," debuts Friday and comes from Mischief @ No Fixed Address, which won agency-of-record duties for the brand in May. 

“​​[Shutterfly] has the power to transform everyday objects into tangible memories. Like that time your colleague made an ass of himself during a client meeting—that should be a thing," said Kevin Mulroy, executive creative director at Mischief. "Or the time your kid broke his arm and what seemed like an apocalyptic occurrence is now a somewhat funny story—that should be a thing. Whatever that thing was, now you can actually ‘Make it a Thing.’”

Craig Rowley, Shutterfly's chief marketing officer, adds: "If you think about the role of Shutterfly in the minds of consumers, it’s really that we allow you to make objects of true kinship. No one else can create things more meaningful or unique."

The campaign includes six ads that will run on a variety of platforms including online and streaming video, linear TV, digital, audio, and social channels including Snapchat and TikTok in a move to connect with younger buyers. The multimillion-dollar effort is Shutterfly's largest campaign in terms of both spending and number of assets, according to the brand.

The campaign follows Shutterfly’s recent acquisition of Spoonflower, an on-demand digital printmaking company. The deal enables Shutterfly to market a broader range of goods including wallpaper, fabric and home decor, according to an August announcement. The collaboration unites Spoonflowers’s more than one million designs by independent artists with Shutterfly’s userbase of over 21 million. 

The campaign comes before the all-important holiday shopping season and amid a broader brand evolution for Shutterfly that includes a new look and feel that debuted last month including what it described as a modern color palette and illustrations. 

“We are purposely launching the campaign prior to [the] holiday to build up awareness and solidify this new brand direction before the holiday clutter. And the assets from this launch will create a continuity campaign that runs into [2022]," Rowley said. "In the past, we’ve focused most of our effort on holiday alone for brand messaging. We are sharing today the initial launch ads and there will be new holiday-specific 'Make it a Thing' campaign elements that will ramp up in November.”