U.K. home improvement retailer B&Q is reviving an old campaign with the line “You can do it when you B&Q it” –-but with a modern, quirky twist.

The idea in the latest ads by agency WCRS is that when you’ve put off dealing with all those niggling household jobs for weeks-- peeling wallpaper, a messy backyard, a worn-out carpet--the voices in your head start nagging you to “do it.” Yes, we've all been there, but in this case, they are voiced--somewhat creepily--by inanimate objects like home or garden ornaments or a draft excluding snake. But it gets the protagonists motivated enough to get off their couch and go to the B&Q store and deal with it. There's a quirky comedy to the spots too, with direction by Sam Hibbard of Somesuch.

"We were inspired by the insight that people all across the nation have jobs around the home that have been put off for weeks, months, or even years. Whether it’s a wonky loo seat, a peeling wall or a stain on a carpet. All most of us need is a helpful final nudge to motivate us to get up and get on with it," says Grant Parker, head of art at WCRS.

The TV campaign is running both as a 30-second ad and a series of 10 second cutdowns--with the "bitesize" media approach reflecting that the tasks in hand are also "bitesize" and not necessarily big projects.  It's supported by radio and outdoor.

The unconventional approach is somewhat unusual for the sector in the U.K., reminding us more of the work by European home improvement retailers like Hornbach via Heimat--though not quite on such an epic scale. 

B&Q's "You can do it" slogan ran for many years from the mid-'80s but was dropped in 2007 as part of an effort to reposition the chain, owned by retail multinational Kingfisher. WCRS revived it last year but this is the first time it has been central to the positioning.