Boots No 7 "Protects & Perfects" the nation’s women!
Nothing drives women into a frenzy of ‘want’ more than the elusive goal of eternal youth. And what a frenzy Boots managed to kick-off with the launch of their No 7 Protect and Perfect Face serum via a £200k magazine campaign. With both editors and consumers raving, word soon travelled from the pages of magazines to the screens of BBC’s Horizon programme and then onto the streets …… in a big way!The product was a sell-out. Sales increased by 2000%. Frantic customers queued outside Boots stores around the country to try and get their hands on limited stocks. Protect & Perfect appeared on e-Bay for hundreds of pounds over the £16.75 retail price. Boots had a hero product proven to deliver genuine results (facially) and massive results (financially) ……. the speed and ferocity of WOM drove conversations in print, on TV and on online forums across the world.
Boots knew that the credibility and advice inherently offered by magazines was the way to kick-start and drive this campaign. Protect & Perfect became the ‘must-have’ part of any women’s beauty regime and this initial explosion onto the market enabled Boot to easily position the rest of the P&P range at the forefront of consumers’ minds (and make-up bags) in a cluttered market. What’s more, the readership of magazines over time guaranteed longevity for a campaign which TV was only able to spark momentarily.Rejuvenating awareness with “new news” in magazines was the best way to activate Boot’s beauty conscious audience to spread the word. Proof that they did just that can be found on numerous websites, where audiences felt compelled to shout about the products in blogs and forums.
Enyi Nwosu - Partner, CHI and Partners
Harvey Nichols .... getting the fashionable talking.
We know that catwalk shows deliberately provoke controversy, sending the media and chattering classes into outpourings of delight and disapproval in equal measure.By and large however fashion advertising is different, with the category largely working within formulaic, idealistic and aspirational boundaries. This creates desire and lots of ‘have you seen this?’ discussion but what’s rarer is for the advertising in the sector to create catwalk levels of buzz.
Harvey Nichols however has continually delivered this and never more so than with Balloon.It’s so different and yet very simple. You get it straight away but I’ve lost count of the number of discussions I’ve had about whether it’s empowering or sexist.
The brilliance of the idea and execution means it is one of the handful of ads you remember and discuss a year after they run. It only ran in four magazine titles and yet punched way above this media weight. The execution is a huge part of this, but the medium's ability to target key influencers in the industry has an equally crucial effect. The community of journalists, fashion buyers and vociferous consumers are inspired to discuss it at length. The ability to go back again and again to check what you’ve seen, make sure you haven’t missed anything and confirm it is saying what you thought it was is another key reason why the medium drives ongoing discussion.Guerrillas and Cogs are more famous. For me however I don’t think any other campaign has created so many informed and relevant discussions quite so effectively.
Mark Bauer – Partner, Rise Communications
Lego – What’s that Dad?
In these digitally orientated times, there’s often a tendency to over-elaborate. Creating intricate journeys in the hope of capturing a disproportionate share of consumer’s time. Well sometimes less is more. Sometimes the product proposition is so simple that to over complicate its sell is to miss the point. Lego is an interesting case in point.
Take the kids to Legoland to see some jaw-dropping, adult built, scale models of The Houses of Parliament and they’ll be impressed. But will it even cross their minds to put it on their birthday wish list so they can reproduce it? Not on your Nelly.
However, let them lose with a bucket of odds and sods and their imagination will run wild. This insight is beautifully captured in these magazine executions from Blattner Brunner. I love the simplicity. It stirs nostalgia and acts as a reminder to parents of Lego’s ability to draw out a child’s creativity. Crucially, as I’ve seen at first hand, it also has the power to stimulate all important conversations. What’s that Dad? Can we make one of those? Will you make us one of those? It’s the best thing I’ve been asked to do all day.This is magazine advertising at its brilliant best. Simple, impactful, relevant and with the ability to start discussions and in doing so change behaviour.
