Real DIY fails show we 'need experts' in Currys rebrand
British retailer and AMV BBDO used found footage to illustrate its point
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In the midst of the U.K.'s Brexit debate a few years ago, pro-Brexit politician Michael Gove famously said that "Britain has had enough of experts." Now a new campaign from British retailer Curry's uses found footage and real-life experiences to show that people really do need experts after all.
The campaign from AMV BBDO is the first to communicate the rebrand of four different retailers, Currys PC World, Dixons Carphone, Carphone Warehouse and Team Knowhow, under the Currys brand. It sets out to highlight the pitfalls of buying tech (whether that's appliances, a phone or a computer) without expertise. Driven by research from the retailer that found 58% of people shopping for expensive and unfamiliar tech products would like to speak to a real-life human expert before they buy, whether that be in-store or online, the campaign aims to contrast Currys' approach with the experience of buying from a "faceless robot retail" platform.
To illustrate that, director Jack Clough of Hunky Dory, known for the comedy series "People Just Do Nothing," begins with found footage featuring some funny DIY fails, from people's disastrous attempts to install their own bathrooms to terrible home haircuts and dangerous chainsaw waving. “When it comes to tech, forget the fake reviewers, bot-farms and lazy algorithms,” says the voiceover. It then directs viewers to ask the experts at Currys, and shows real-life employees helping customers with their purchases.
“Technology is such an intrinsic part of our lives now that how you buy it matters more than ever before," said Dan Rubel, brand and marketing director at Currys, in a statement. "Our research shows that prior to handing over their hard-earned cash, people want advice about the tech they buy from a real-life human expert, particularly when it comes to those expensive and more complex pieces of kit."
The campaign is further supported by out-of-home creative that again focuses on expertise, playing humorously on specific pieces of tech. For example, one highlights how the brand’s experts even know “which beard trimmers are best for trimming things that aren’t beards.” Billboards will run over 1,200 sites across the U.K.
Credits
- Date
- Oct 07, 2021
- Client :
- Currys
- Agency :
- AMV BBDO
- Brand & Marketing Director :
- Dan Rubel
- Head of Brand, Comms & Planning :
- Corin Mills
- Senior Advertising Manager :
- Ernest Osafo
- Advertising Manager :
- Ciaran Conway
- CCO :
- Alex Grieve
- ECD :
- Nadja Lossgott
- ECD :
- Nicholas Hulley
- AV :
- Prabs Wignarajah
- AV :
- Jamie Starbuck
- OOH :
- Laurens Grainger
- OOH :
- Alicia Cliffe
- Agency Planning Team :
- Matt Hardisty
- Agency Planning Team :
- Alice Aldridge
- Agency Account Team :
- Alex Bird
- Agency Account Team :
- Alex Smith
- Agency Account Team :
- Josh Barnes
- Agency Producer/Creative Production Partner :
- James Robley
- Business Affairs :
- Cate Killeen
- Project Management :
- Paul Glucklich
- Project Management :
- Martin McGinn
- Production Company :
- Hunky Dory
- Director :
- Jack Clough
- Production Co. Producer :
- Nick Papworth
- DOP :
- Arran Green
- Edit :
- Al Sinclair
- Post-Production Company :
- ETC
- Sound Studio :
- Wave Studios
- Audio Post-production Engineer :
- Parv Thind
- Media Agency :
- Spark Foundry
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