Luxury department store Harvey Nichols stole headlines across the globe with an ad using genuine CCTV footage of people shoplifting in its stores, as a way to push its loyalty app.
The online film, by London shop, Adam&EveDDB, disguises the faces of shoplifters with animated characters to highlight that now Harvey Nichols shoppers can get their kicks for free – legally.
But despite the popularity of the ad, what is the verdict from Australian creatives? 303Lowe head of planning Jon McKie said the creative might be brilliant, but he questions the branding.
“I quite like it – it's brave to use real footage of people nicking stuff, but I think it's completely inappropriate for what is meant to be an upmarket store,” McKie said.
“It's a great creative idea and it's insightful and funny but it's a completely wrong decision for Harvey Nichols. It would have been much better on a more mainstream brand.”
McKie said this is an example of where the creative has won out ahead of the branding. He said he sees absolutely brilliant creative ideas pass through the door all the time, but if they don't work for the client, they have to be knocked back.
GPY&R Brisbane executive creative director Brendan Greaney agrees that the ad is a departure from the usual Harvey Nichols style, which tends to be slick and high end. However, he thinks it's this trait that makes it work.
“Harvey Nichols is known for doing brave, elegant advertising, always around people doing anything to get their hands on their stuff. So for me, it's bang on brand,” Greaney said.
“But you can just imagine the breathless conversations going on in the boardroom -'Is it too negative?', 'Does it encourage shoplifting?'. It's cool to see they resisted the scary voices.”
McCann Sydney ECD Dejan Rasic and The Hallway senior art director Dylan Soopramania both agree that the ad's bravery makes it a great fit for the Harvey Nichols brand.
“Using store security camera footage to create advertising for a loyalty app is smart and entertaining,” Rasic said.
“I love how they’ve obscured the faces of the shoplifters using animated heads. It adds so much personality to the whole piece and it all wraps up nicely at the end with the line ‘Love Freebies? Get them legally.'
“Harvey Nichols has a long history of strong work and it continues with this.”
Soopramania added that the fact that the idea takes CCTV footage – a “well trodden area” and turns it into a “real and painful truth “ in the retail world is really effective.
“I like the visual treatment as well. It’s quirky and reminds me of the Diesel SFW XXX campaign from a few years back,” Soopramania said. “It's a smart alternative to standard pixelated faces, and by illustrating what the criminals are going through mentally, it adds a level of storytelling charm that definitely put a smile on my face.
“The only real negative is that I think it’s a tad too long but overall, once again, another great ad for Harvey Nichols and something I’m sure will get shared all over.”
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