| Sinopsis | The much-loved Argos catalogue takes centre stage in the retailer’s highly anticipated 2019 Christmas advertising campaign, launching tonight to millions of viewers across the UK. The new TV advertisement is expected to be the first blockbuster Christmas advert from a major British retailer this year, and it celebrates the iconic and long-standing tradition of circling your most-wanted gifts in the Argos catalogue. While the catalogue has been a firm fixture with families for the last 46 years, it’s been absent from Argos’s most significant annual TV advertisement for the past decade. This year, however, the Christmas edition of the catalogue plays a starring role in the festive campaign. It has been renamed ‘The Book of Dreams’ and the advert delivers on this promise as a dad’s childhood dreams are awoken when he sees a drumkit his daughter circled in the Argos catalogue. The heart-warming story begins in a kitchen, where the dad taps his finger on the circled drum kit, and to his surprise, the kitchen table splits open to magically reveal it, right there in front of him. Dad begins to play as the kitchen transforms into his own private gig, with bulbs beaming in the oven and stage smoke pouring from the fridge. Simple Minds’ 80s classic ‘Don’t You Forget About Me’ plays on the TV and he drums along. The father is joined by his daughter – woken by the noise – and suddenly the kitchen is transformed into the gig of a lifetime, with adoring fans chanting along. In a scene-stealing moment, Cubby the Curious Bear – one of Argos’s predictions for the most popular toys of the festive season – leaps off the stage and crowd surfs. The advert airs on Friday 1 November during ITV’s Coronation Street and Channel 4’s Gogglebox. It was created by The&Partnership London and shot by award-winning director team, Traktor. Dan Elton, Head of Marketing Communications, Argos, said: “This year we wanted to celebrate a festive tradition that families up and down the country all know and love. The nostalgia of circling your dream gift in the Argos catalogue never goes away and it’s still going strong in today’s tech-obsessed world.” Elton added “Argos is one of the UK’s biggest online retailers but the feeling of turning the pages of the catalogue is something our customers love and sets us apart from everyone else. Whether you shop by smartphone on your commute, pop in-store to browse the latest products or love to pour over the catalogue in the comfort of your own living room, Argos is the place to fulfil your Christmas dreams.” Danny Hunt, Creative Director, The&Partnership said “The idea started with a great bit of planning. The brief reminded us that Christmas starts with the Argos catalogue arriving. As kids past and present we’ve all spent hours sifting through it, circling all the stuff we wanted. This led us to the idea that this is so much more than a catalogue. It’s a book of dreams. And that was a big idea we all got very excited about.” Directing team Traktor, Stink Films, said “Sometimes the stars line up in a project; this was one of those. We had the proper ingredients: a great story, the most iconic humdinger from the 80’s, full access to that classic video, two superstar drummers, a couple of kids’ drum kits and a crew that absolutely loved this project. With a large and fairly complicated set (designed by Nick Foley-Oates), we didn’t make it easy for ourselves, but we had a lot of fun doing it.” Yan Elliott, Executive Creative Director, The&Partnership said “The year is one big drum roll to Christmas. Here, Argos have delivered the crescendo. We hope that families, up and down the UK, will not only love the campaign, but will be inspired to revisit this Christmas tradition.” The launch of the TV advert follows a social campaign that has seen celebrities, influencers and members of the public surprised with their own ‘Book of Dreams’ from when they were young. The campaign also included the creation of Argos’s first ever digital repository of vintage catalogues from the last four decades, which attracted over 1.8 million visits in its first 48 hours. The full 360 campaign encompasses online, television, cinema, brand response, bumpers, out-of-home, social and influencer outreach. http://argosbookofdreams.co.uk/ -END- For more information, contact: Gabrielle Lott / Communications Consultant gabby@gabriellelott.com / +44 (0)7469 758 935 About Argos: Established in 1973, Argos is a leading UK general merchandise retailer offering more than 60,000 products through its website, apps and 850+ standalone stores and stores inside Sainsbury’s supermarkets. Employing around 30,000 colleagues, it is the UK’s number one toy retailer and a market leader in furniture, homewares and electricals. Argos is a technology-led retailer; its website receives more than a billion visits a year and more than half of sales originate online. 80 per-cent of all orders are fulfilled in stores as customers take advantage of its convenient Click & Collect service. Its market-leading Fast Track delivery service is available across more than 90% of UK postcodes, seven days a week, and offers home delivery in as little as four hours up to 10pm. Argos is part of the Sainsbury’s Group, which is a retailer of food, general merchandise, clothing and financial services through the Sainsbury’s, Sainsbury’s Bank, Argos and Habitat brands. J Sainsbury plc is listed on the London Stock Exchange. www.argos.co.uk About The&Partnership: Both the UK’s largest and Europe’s fastest-growing independent agency network, increasingly known for its innovative in-sourced model. Backed by WPP and spanning four continents, with 1,500 staff, the multi-disciplined agency group last year saw a year of record growth, expanding across 17 new European markets and doubling in size against a challenging industry backdrop. It attributes this rapid expansion to the success of its in-sourced ‘&Model’ agencies, with multi-disciplined, on-site teams working alongside clients’ marketing departments in new, nimble ways, to a single bottom line; delivering data-driven work to fit new marketing agendas. Designed to meet clients’ growing need for maximum speed, agility, cost-effectiveness and integration, these multi- disciplined ‘&Model’ agencies are driving impressive results for clients including News UK and TalkTalk in London, The Wall Street Journal in New York, TELUS in Canada, RBS in Edinburgh, as well as Toyota and Lexus across 17 markets in Europe. The&Partnership also has offices in London, New York, Canada and Asia, and is partnered with global media planning and buying network m/SIX through a joint venture with GroupM. www.theandpartnershiplondon.com About Stink Films: a creatively driven global production company. Working with the world’s leading advertising agencies, brands and media groups, we create award-winning film and photography. We provide an inspiring home for directors and have nurtured and represented a diverse roster of global talent for almost 20 years. https://stinkfilms.com/ CREDITS Agency: The&Partnership London CEO: Sarah Golding Executive Creative Directors: Yan Elliott / Micky Tudor Creative Director: Danny Hunt Creatives: Ludo Thomas / Arthur Harry Head of Planning: Rebecca Munds Senior Planner: Claire Carmichael Managing Director: Gary Simmons Account Director: Lucy Almond Account Manager: Hannah Gray Senior Producer: Andy Roberts Producer: Alfie Glover-Short Media Agency: PHD Production Company: Stink Films Director: Traktor Producer: Traktor / Richard Ulfvengren Producer: Icon Films / Millen Nickolov Director of Photography: Joost van Gelder Editor: Ryan Beck @ Final Cut Production Designer: Nick Foley Oates/Eva Vento Post Production: MPC Colourist: Jean-Clement Soret Shoot Supervisor: Kamen Markov VFX Supervisor: Jake Nelson Producer: Phil Whalley Song: “Don’t You (Forget About Me)” Artist: Simple Minds Music Supervision Company: Leland Music Music Supervisors: Codie Childs Music Arranger: Chris Hill Drum Supervisor: Brad Webb Sound Designer: Munzie Thind @ Grand Central About MPC: The Moving Picture Company (MPC) is an Academy Award-winning creative studio. A world leader in visual storytelling with nine studios globally, MPC specializes in creative production, VFX, design, immersive media and technology inspired content. Recent notable work includes Ridley Scott’s ‘The Seven Worlds’ for Hennessy, Dante Ariola’s ‘Legend’ for BMW and John Favreau’s upcoming movie, 'The Lion King' as well as multi-award-winning projects, such as 'Blade Runner 2049', John Lewis ‘The Boy and the Piano’ and Volkswagen ‘Born Confident.’ www.moving-picture.com |