adam&eveDDB launched a new spot for Harvey Nichols featuring footage of real-life shoplifters helping themselves to a five finger discount.
The spot uses CCTV footage from the store of shoplifters pilfering items, with their faces replaced by cartoony animations. By the end of the spot, all of the perpetrators have been caught. The ad ends with the message “Love freebies? Get them legally.” followed by a pitch for the Harvey Nichols Rewards App.
While some may question the decision to compare the app to shoplifting, it’s an attention-grabbing way to introduce the service. It also works well with the snarky tone of Harvey Nichols previous advertising, such as its “Could I Be Any Clearer?” holiday spot.
And if you’re still skeptical, adam&eveDDB executive creative director Ben Tollett insisted to AdFreak that the spot uses “100% genuine actual real honest footage,” adding, “We got to sit in the Harvey Nichols CCTV control suite with all the store detectives, toggling the cameras around. It did feel pretty cool.”