29/04/2020
We needed some research to find the heart of Wickes.
Talking to Tradesmen, Serious DIYers, DIYers and 'Showroom Sandra' they all felt Wickes was good quality for the 'own brand' price so we focussed on the much larger own brand aspect of the store.
We found that Tradesmen would always 'knock' a job to make sure it was solid, satisfying and good. No 'd***s'. We found that pride in a job well done was the reward of working with good solid materials. They trusted the paint and the decking, it had Wickes name on it.
And if the trade was happy with a job, they would sign it, under a piece of decking, or hidden behind a tile, the tradesman's signature was there. A secret testiment to his or her artistry.
With the line 'It's got our name on it. Wickes' we set about bringing the own brand story to life.
The stories had to be simple so we could tell lots of product tales. A 'man' who might be a DIYer or Tradesman puts together decking, signs it and gives it a satisfying knock. Pride in job well done. ‘We went to Northern Scandanavia, selected the finest timber, brought it back to our store and put OUR name on it so you could buy the best decking for the price and make a fantastic home improvement.’ 'Shared pride in a job well done.'
This passed the research test; simple enough. All we had to do was dial it up in craft and ex*****on. We looked at what was going on in the marketplace and said. 'What M&S did for food, we'll do for wood.'
We made films that romanced the work so much that any Serious DIYer, DIYer (wannabee serious) and Tradesman would sit up like meerkats at home when the ads came on. They would be inspired by a simple decking job, and also be able to say with pride - 'I do that'. Builder p**n.
That's why we shot every film POV. Using camera point of view and no actor meant that the viewer could put him or herself in the picture.
We shot with a precise depth of field to pick out the parts of the job that were delicious and interesting, giving the directors and art director free reign to explore the materials.
In the end the VO was the thing that cemented the ads in popular culture. Thanks Tim.
