eBay Turns Nothing to Wear into Something You Love

Here’s a universal truth: No matter how full our wardrobes are with clothes, many of us still feel like we have nothing to wear. According to new research from eBay UK reveals that despite having full wardrobes, 70% of the nation wears only half or less of their clothes daily, with just 25% selling their unwanted items. This results in an estimated £16.3 billion worth of unworn clothing in the UK. To encourage selling and support circular fashion, eBay UK is launching the 'Turn Nothing to Wear into Something to Love' campaign to inspire people to sell and buy on the platform.

Developed by lead creative agency DEPT®, the campaign “Turn your nothing to wear into something you love” features four distinct stories showcasing real-life situations, capturing the frustration of having nothing suitable to wear – from the frantic last-minute search when running late to the overwhelming feeling of sifting through heaps of clothes without finding anything inspiring.

‘I have nothing to wear’ is a phrase we all know far too well. A feeling of despair and a sense of fashion fatigue. But it’s not because we have too little, if anything we often have too much. Wardrobes and draws full of good quality items we’ve just fallen out of love with.

So what’s the idea?

It’s simple really.

Turn your ‘nothing to wear’ into something to sell with eBay.

But how do you capture the earth-shattering realisation of having nothing to wear moments before stepping out the door? You tell it through playfully stylised and overly dramatic moments, capturing the feeling of fashion fatigue in the most relatable ways. To do this we collaborated with renowned director and style icon Lou Escobar. Lou’s vision and fashion credentials allowed us to craft a series of beautiful stories that spoke so sincerely to our human truth, viewed through a unique fashion lens that's undeniably eBay. The through-the-line campaign captures the universal feeling of ‘I’ve got nothing to wear’ to fuel the flywheel and drive everyone to sell and then buy on eBay -  turning your ‘nothing to wear’ into something to love.

Nazia Du Bois, marketing director, eBay UK, comments, “We’ve all had that ‘nothing to wear’ feeling and yet research shows most of us (70%) wear half or less than half of our wardrobes on a day-to-day basis. As the UK's loved and trusted recommerce brand, eBay is well positioned to encourage us all to act on this universal insight by listing your 'nothing to wear' wardrobe items so that they can become someone else's 'something to love', and you in turn can find what you really want to wear. It's a brand message that perfectly lands our belief that people should fill their lives with more of the things that they love - while also fuelling the circular fashion economy by driving seller supply and buyer demand through a single effective messaging strategy."

Creative director Bel Moretti, DEPT®, continues, "This was an opportunity for us to tackle a feeling we all face, that feeling of ‘nothing to wear’ that plagues our plans. Because everyone’s been there, staring into a wardrobe full of clothes and feeling like we have absolutely nothing to wear. Our reluctance to give up on fashion we no longer love, filling our spaces and causing fashion fatigue. A problem that is about so much more than just finding a cute outfit or getting ready, this is about how we start every one of our days, Which is massive. Why start every day feeling like you have nothing to wear, when you could start your days with something you love? ”

The full-funnel campaign includes OOH, digital, radio, and TVC, and will run across the UK from this week until late June.