Harvey Nichols Christmas ad: 'Sorry I spent it on myself' campaign breaks mould

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Christmas campaign: A scene in the Harvey Nicols advert
Rachael Sigee27 November 2013

With less than a month before Christmas, the heat is on for advertising campaigns to out-schmaltz each other in order to entice shoppers.

John Lewis might have tugged at the heartstrings with its £7million Hare and Bear ad - a year after its lonely snowman and two years from its selfless little boy story - but not every brand has embraced the traditional Christmas spirit of gift-giving.

Harvey Nichols is encouraging people to remember their own shopping desires with a new ad campaign called “Sorry, I spent it on myself!” in which customers ditch the stress of buying for others, and spend the money on themselves.

And while they are celebrating your new dress or shoes, friends and family can be happy with its range of small gifts - such as toothpicks, or a set of paperclips.

A teaser trailer, featuring some of the products available, describes the “Real Plastic Doorstop in a Ribbed Finish” and “ Authentic Lincolnshire Gravel all the way from Lincolnshire”.

And the full advert, launched today, sees suspiciously designer-wearing gift-givers bestowing items from the range on their perplexed family members.

With prices ranging from 47p for “100% wood” toothpicks to a full Christmas lunch in a tin - or baked beans - for £1.89, most could pick up their entire Christmas shopping for a tenner - and then go on a personal spree.

Julia Bowe, Harvey Nichols Press & Marketing Director said: “ At the core of our brand is a sense of humour and not many luxury retailers do that but the truth is gift-giving is stressful and we don’t always receive what we like. Some of us would prefer to spend the money on a fabulous dress!”

The brand has a history of tongue-in-cheek Christmas adverts, last year featuring women shooting lasers out of their eyes after suffering a ‘same dress disaster’ at the Christmas party.

Paul Billingsley, Business Director of ad agency adam&eveDDB - which also looks after John Lewis - said: “Harvey Nichols wanted an intelligent concept that would catch the public’s imagination and be something different to the traditional romantic marketing of most other brands.The only queue longer than the one on Christmas Eve is the returns queue on Boxing Day.”

Harvey Nichols hopes to spark a viral storm, and is encouraging people to film the reactions of their friends and family on opening the “Sorry, I spent it on myself!” range.

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