Argos dares to dream and advertise with the brakes off.
I love the Argos 'Book of Dreams' ad. A little bit like when you first saw Moulin Rouge and realised that Baz Luhrmann had been given free rein and just went for it. This is just as unrestrained. You think it's peaked and it steps it up another level.
How do I say this nicely... Argos haven't hit these heights in recent years, if at all. That's one thing that makes this ad stand out, to be honest. Full marks for expectation-busting. The other thing is the idea of family connection - something other brands had taken a run at, but perhaps this wordless dream sequence says it all where dialogue would fall short. After all, it's the feeling they're trying to convey, not necessarily the language.
The shame of it is, most brands with the budget could have ads like this. Most teams in London can produce scripts of this scale and ambition. And have. They just don't get bought, for whatever reason. There must be thousands parked forever in dusty MacBook folders all over town. Imagine if they did buy them. It would be like Christmas all year round - back to the days when random newspaper surveys revealed viewers liked the ads more than the shows.
Hopefully other brands will take heart from this and buy something more sparkly and magical from their agency's own Book of Dreams.
Bonus beats: Nandi Bushell's rehearsal footage on the link below:
Senior UX writer/content designer/content writer/copywriter
5 年Fabulous!
Founder, Nurture Consulting: Bespoke business development and strategic marketing support for service led SMEs ?? Content ?? Strategy ?? Storytelling ??Work Winning Insights + Training.
5 年Great piece of storytelling! I love the idea of the catalogue being a book of dreams - taking it beyond the functional and encouraging us to use our imaginations. It might not be 100% new, but it’s thoughtfully done and beautifully produced. Luckily for me, I already have a drum kit at home. Might play it later! #feelingfestive
Senior/Lead Creative specialising in fully integrated campaigns rooted in sports and culture.
5 年It's 100% my fave Christmas and this year. Strategically and creatively first class! ??
Creative Director
5 年I am not feeling the bravery from this advert at all. Seems like a bastard amalgamation of other previous adverts, like the Cadburys gorilla for example and another Christmas ad that also sought to make a big stage show of itself (Sainsbury’s last year I think). So this ad is safely borrowed. Even the John Lewis Xmas ad is shamelessly bringing back the Doritos dragon idea. Wtf. I feel brave even saying this amongst such a gutless herd and audience these days. So be brave yes. Think harder would be the two words to get to that better creative place more honestly. Because being brave is being truly original and different, which no such claim can be made from Argos most certainly Jonny.