Impact BBDO Dubai has been rewriting the book on great retail advertising with its campaigns for Centrepoint, the Middle East’s biggest fashion store.

Centrepoint’s ads are not montages of moving editorial fashion images like those of its (so many of its) competitors (globally). They’re stories about life with unarguable propositions.

And that includes Centrepoint’s sale ads – while most sale ads usually stick to the script of touting discount prices.

There were the black humour stories, whose (credible) assumption that life is a bitch led to the proposition that when it bites you the only thing you can do is look good.

There was the story that extolled the existence of greed and encouraged people to unleash it.

And now there’s a brand story about a young man who is going through his life unnoticed, underscored by a cover Passenger’s sorrowful hit, Let her go, by Anna Pancaldi and Arch Birds. The boy nobody sees has a crush on a girl, to whom he sends gifts but doesn’t approach her…and then she moves away. He has missed his chance. The proposition? Show yourself.

The underlying idea? To promote confidence through (Centrepoint) fashion.

“With a shifting consumer, cultural and competitive landscape, our new brand strategy focuses on positioning Centrepoint with purpose and pride heralding a new era for fashion-retail. The brand campaign is a reflection of our purpose-driven thinking and puts the consumer right at the centre of the action,” explained Simon Cooper, head of Centrepoint.

The campaign targets a growing segment of the young people, who constantly battle to express themselves. And its relevance also extends to a wide spectrum of audiences – especially in its region. For all of them, fashion-confidence is a powerful ally and a response to the uncertainty…

…even for, Fadi Yaish, executive creative director of Impact BBDO. “I’ve always identified with introverts. There have been times where I have felt comfortable blending in with the surroundings or the furniture even. But my best moments have come, when I’ve taken the courage to show the world that I exist.”

Shyam Sunder, senior head of marketing at Centrepoint, added,” Show Yourself is based on a simple insight – that the lack of confidence often buries people under layers of self-doubt and uncertainty. Thus, making the brand platform an invitation to the inner-self, to break through the layers of self-doubt that curb expression.”

Credits:

Agency: Impact BBDO Dubai


Executive Creative Director: Fadi Yaish

Associate Creative Director: Alok Mohan

Agency ProducerL Aly Seifelnasr

Vice President General Manager: Colin Farmer

Account Directors: Christopher Kiernan & Andrew Peacock

Account Managers: Lizelle Rodrigues & Rima Hussein

Planner: Saurabh Dahiya

Production House: Truffle, Beirut

Director: Martin Stirling

Executive Producers: Michel Abou Zeid & Cynthia Chammas

DOP: Carl Burke

Costume Designer: Valter Kobal

Editing: Eve Ashwell @ The Assembly Rooms

Grade: Jean Clément Soret @ MPC London

Online: MPC London

Music Supervisor: Leland Music

Production Designer: Natasa Rogelj

Client: Centrepoint


Head of Centrepoint: Simon Cooper

Senior Head of Marketing: Shyam Sunder

Marketing Manager: Rupal Panjani