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Bartle Bogie Hegarty unveil their stunning new advertisement for Dulux paint

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London-based creative advertising agency Bartle Bogie Hegarty have recently unveiled a beautiful new televised advertisement for Dulux, the UK's most popular purveyors of quality paints. BBH have been working with Dulux for almost 3 years now, after landing a £60 million global ad brief back in June 2011. They were tasked with building the property's brand and developing a global communications strategy, a task BBH group chairman Nigel Bogel said was a “Very exciting opportunity to make a real difference.”

The ad is truly epic in both scope and execution with a tender love story at its epicentre

This latest ad spot from the agency (which debuted Sunday the 2nd of March on Channel 4) aims to take viewers back to early 20th century America, when prohibition ran rampant and life appeared to lack colour as a result. The ad takes this metaphor literally, replacing alcohol with paint and focusing on a dull, grey world completely devoid of colour, where police don't chase bootleggers, but painters. The ad is truly epic in both scope and execution with a tender love story at its epicentre, between a couple who fall in love through their mutual appreciation of the 'taboo' and (literally) transformative power of colour.

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The spot was shot in the old financial district of Johannesburg in South Africa and was directed by creative partners Christian McKenzie and Patrick Chen (who work collective under the 'Christian & Patrick' banner). The duo have worked on award winning adverts such as the controversial 'Crashes' spot for deodorant manufacturers Axe/Lynx (which won a Cannes Lions Titanium Award) as well as spots for Guinness, Audi and Peugeot. Besides the renowned duo, the Prohibition advert also features set and costume design by music video veteran Richard Lassalle (a production designer who has worked with everyone from Eminem to Madonna) and cinematography courtesy of Benoit Delhomme, whose most notable credit to date was working on the equally striking 'The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas'.

Nick Allsop, the creative director at BBH, said that he found the film to be very timely, as it arrived at the tail end of a rather bleak recession. He says the message of the ad is simple; that “Dulux colour can change more than just your walls,” indeed, he feels the ad underlines the fact that Dulux can “Change your entire outlook on life.” He hopes that the results are “Dramatic, romantic and stylish enough to make people re-appraise the much-loved Dulux brand.”

“Your life is a story, change it with Dulux”

McKenzie and Chen said of the ad that they fell in love with the idea after reading the script and immediately knew they wanted to be involved. They praised the evocative nature of the narrative, and that  they imagined “Quite clearly how to develop a story” from the concept of “A world stripped of colour.” They admitted the story they eventually settled on is “A bit of a fairytale,” but they also said the approach was not to focus so much on the story, but to use the story as a framework from which to “Bring the world to life in as visceral and cinematic a way as possible.”

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The tag-line “Your life is a story, change it with Dulux”, refers to the ongoing 'Change Your World' campaign. Ann Marie O'Riordan, head of marketing for Dulux, believes that the campaign is their “Most integrated yet,” and that it represents a “Turning point for Dulux, elevating the brand idea that colour can help change your story.” The vast campaign is being handled by multiple agencies, with AnalogFolk taking the digital reigns, in-store marketing being run by Initials, Mediacom arranging media buying and Mischief PR running PR.

Official Dulux Website
Official BBH Website

Benjamin Hiorns is a freelance copywriter and keen painter, though he wouldn't face potential prison time for a splash of salmon pink!

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