In the 1990s, Rachel Hunter and Pantene famously told us it won't happen overnight, but now underwear brand Berlei is telling us it will.
Pacific Brands' Berlei label has unveiled an out-of-home and digital campaign which seeks to position the brand as modern and contemporary in an attempt to capture the youth market. It's the first work The Campaign Palace has launched for Pacific Brands since it lost the Bonds account last year.
The execution which piqued the most interest at AdNews was the billboard which loudly proclaimed “It WILL happen overnight”.
For those of us over 25-years old, it's a callback to the iconic “It won't happen overnight, but it will happen” words uttered by the Kiwi supermodel in a shampoo ad two decades ago. So strong is the connection of the phrase with Pantene 20 years later, an immediate association was made, not to mention a weird compulsion for super shiny hair.
The Campaign Palace Melbourne creative director Jess Harold, who developed the campaign, confirmed to AdNews the reference is a deliberate one.
While that execution is just one of several in the campaign, it's certainly the most memorable. However, the two youngest members of the AdNews team (in their early 20s) couldn't recall the Pantene ad when queried, having been too young at the time.
Berlei marketing manager, Kellie Warwick, said in a statement: “We wanted The Palace to create a campaign that showed women the transformational effect a Berlei bra or pair of briefs can have on their bodies and at the same time deliver a more contemporary look and personality for the brand.”
The Campaign Palace Melbourne creative directors, Harold and Jacqui Paterson, said in a statement: “Refreshing the look and feel not only revamped the brand, but allowed Berlei to talk about their product benefits in a youthful and cheeky way.”
Given Berlei is trying to target a younger demographic, is it wise to use a reference that is lost on a portion of their desired consumers? And what is the effectiveness of coming over all postmodern with callbacks to previous ads so embedded in the popular discourse? Debate below in the comments.
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