Retail advertising. With a few exceptions (hello Harvey Nichols), it’s so often blah.

Unless you happen to be in the UAE. Impact BBDO, Dubai creates remarkable campaigns for shopping centre, Centrepoint. Campaigns that defy the ordinary retail pitch.

How about an ad whose message is, “Everyday life sets up to ruin your day”? That’s not blah. In fact, it’s guaranteed to get your attention. Especially when its story is as captivating and its delivery as stylish as this:

Impact BBDO: Style and substance make Centrepoint look stunning

You see, retail in the UAE is known for its year-long sales and shopping festivals. So Impact BBDO client, Centrepoint, has to stand out in an overly competitive and cluttered category, meet expectations that are incredibly high and attain more footfalls in its stores with its ads. (Sound familiar, Australia?)

But that doesn’t seem to be a problem for Impact’s creatives. This year’s campaign is based on a core emotion everyone harbours. And I bet it grabs your attention. Imagine, too, that you’re an everyday bod, who doesn’t know in advance who the ad is for:

“When there’s a sale, you feel like you want everything in the store. And if that comes across as greed, that’s okay. Because the Centrepoint Sale is the only socially acceptable place to unleash greed,” the agency noted.

“The Centrepoint Sale comes with up to 70% off, it would be a crime if you weren’t greedy,” Fadi Yaish, executive creative director of Impact BBDO, noted.

“This is a bold new moment for Centrepoint as we look to take the brand forward. The film tackles the motivations and modern contradictions behind consumer decision making,” stated Simon Cooper, head of Centrepoint.

Shyam Sunder, senior head of marketing added, “The Centrepoint Sale is one of the biggest retail events in the region. Our new film from Impact BBDO is based on a strong behavioural insight which directly relates to our Sale.”

Once again, the video’s filmic qualities amplify an irresistible Impact message.  

“The first thing people asked when they saw the film was “where did you shoot this?” Their jaws dropped when they learnt it was in Beirut. We are immensely proud that a film shot in Lebanon is raising the bar in the Middle East,” Cynthia Chammas and Michelle Abou Zei, executive producers at Truffle Films, commented. 

In less than 24 hours, the film was viewed over a million times and its impact in terms of footfalls across Centrepoint stores was already being felt.

Credits

Agency: Impact BBDO Dubai 

Executive Creative Director: Fadi Yaish

Creative Director: Amr El Haddad

Associate Creative Director: Alok Mohan

Agency Producer: Aly Seifelnasr

Vice President General Manager: Colin Farmer

Account Director: Christopher Kiernan

Account Manager: Lizelle Rodriguez

Planner: Saurabh Dahiya

Production Company:  Truffle Films Beirut

Executive Producers: Cynthia Chammas & Michel Abou Zeid

Director: Virgil Ferragut

DOP: Daniel Lindhom

Costume Designers: Oscar Charpentier & Bashar Assaf

Head SFX Make-up & Hair: Inaki Maestre Lopez

Production Designer: Nathaly Harb

Casting Director: Lucciana Boulos

Line Producer: Same Joe Khoury

Production Manager: Sami Abou Zeid

Music: Sary Hany

Editor: Olivier Bugge Coutte

Colourist: Henri Pulla

Client: Centrepoint

Head of Centrepoint: Simon Cooper

Senior Head of Marketing: Shyam Sunder

Marketing Manager: Rupal Panjani