Selleys launched in 1939 as a brands for tradies, but it became a range of DIY products over the years. The brand’s tagline, If it’s Selley’s it works, has been giving everyday people confidence for decades. Now it has been given new vigour, helping Selley’s to reclaim its original purpose.
Howatson+Company has launched a bold campaign with a torture test surprise aimed at tradies, demonstrating Selley’s product’s ability to handle the toughest, gutsiest jobs – the kinds of jobs you’d only want to do once, for the craftsmen who don’t settle for just any product on the job. The campaign taps into tradies’ motive of avoiding the dreaded call-back of fixing a job and adds the “gobsmack” of an epic product test, showing it being used in high-stakes situations where it simply has to work.
The campaign’s hero commercial was shot by FINCH director, Michael Hill.
Livia McKenzie, head of portfolio, brands & advertising, Selley’s, stated, “Our aim is to super-charge our next stage of growth and get more tradies exploring the depth of the Selleys portfolio. To elevate Selleys’ place on the job site, we had to take it out of the world of DIY jobs at home and show it could handle the necessary level of gutsiness trade professionals need.”
Dan Smith, senior art director at Howatson+Company, commented,, “If it’s Selleys it works has been around for decades, but it’s been a bit of a dormant asset. To reclaim the brand’s iconic status, we needed to make it the headline – not the punctuation. This campaign is a testament to the strength of Selleys as a brand, and we look forward to building on this momentum and continuing our work with the Selleys team to win over tradies’ trust across Australia.”
Ernie Ciaschetti, senior copywriter at Howatson+Company, added, “As an ex-tradie, it was an absolute honour to tackle this challenge for such an iconic Aussie brand. I hope my old mates in fluro see a bit of themselves in the work and start reaching for Selleys as a result—otherwise, I might be back on-site with them.”
The campaign is running across broadcast, digital, and outdoor media in Australia.
Credits
Client: Selley’s
General Manager: Jemma Carison
Global Marketing Director: Endi Asmira
Head of Portfolio, Brands & Advertising: Livia McKenzie
Group Marketing Capability Manager: Erin Porter
Agency: Howatson+Company
CEO: Chris Howatson
Group Managing Director: Renee Hyde
Chief Creative Officer: Gavin Chimes
Chief Strategy Officer: Dom Hickey
Creative Directors: Simon Friedlander, Scott Zuliani
Head of Craft: Ellena Mills
Senior Art Director: Dan Smith
Senior Copywriter: Ernie Ciaschetti
Design Director: Trent Michael
Client Partner: Sophie Sykes
Senior Business Director: Lisa Zimpel
Senior Business Manager: Eddie Moult
Planning Director: Georgia Pritchard
Studio Lead: Simon Merrifield
Senior Producer: Caitlin Perz
Media Company: IPG Mediabrands
Production Company: FINCH
Director: Michael Hili
Producer: Amy Dymond
Executive Producer: Loren Bradley
DOP: Gregoire Liere
Production Designer: Ella Butler
Casting: Byrne Casting
Editor: Andrew Holmes
Post Production: Heckler
Colourist: Matt Fezz
