Wickes' Easter Campaign Advocates a Weekend Off from DIY Projects

Wickes is urging customers to make the most of the long Easter weekend and put off the DIY jobs for a later date, with the launch of ‘The Buy Now, Do It Later Sale’. Targeting the Bank Holiday weekend, the campaign encourages consumers to take advantage of an exceptional 15% off everything this Easter, whilst still enjoying their holiday by leaving their home projects for another weekend. A bold message from a home improvement retailer on a weekend which is traditionally associated with DIY.

This is the first time Wickes has advocated this audacious approach, building on the brand’s Let’s Do It Right strategy and creative platform. The Easter campaign brings to life research showing that 85% of home improvers start a project over a bank holiday weekend, but only around half ever actually finish it. For that reason, consumers should ‘do their Easter weekend right’ by enjoying the extra holiday and not rushing the DIY jobs that are important to their home through lack of time.

‘The Buy Now, Do It Later Sale’, which heroes the message ‘keep the paint lid on and take the weekend off’, will be activated by a 10 second TV commercial voiced by Phil Spencer across terrestrial and satellite channels. The creative will also be heard on radio and seen via digital and print platforms. To further the relationship with Channel 4, the campaign will include a disruptive ad takeover during key Channel 4 programmes, starting on Good Friday (14th April).

This takeover will see Wickes dominating ad breaks through a series of creatives featuring larger than life TV personality, Dom Joly. After an intro sequence unveils the Wickes 15% off everything Easter offer, Dom will interrupt the advert to remind viewers that it’s Easter and they should be out having fun, not stuck doing DIY. He is then seen in a variety of scenarios, some of which will play on the previous advert, reminding viewers that they should be making the most of the weekend doing fun things such as dining out or swanning off to Paris, before the last spot reveals Dom laden with bags saying “15% off everything? I’m not stupid. Right, I’m off scuba diving. Taxi!”

Matthew Gaunt, Head of Brand Communications at Wickes says: “We know home improvers, and whilst not everyone enjoys DIY, the Bank Holiday weekends can often centre around it. With ‘The Buy Now, Do It Later Sale’ we’re not afraid to say you should take advantage of the best deals for your project and spend the extra holiday time doing fun stuff instead of DIY. It’s a daring message but it's one we know consumers will relate to, allowing them to make big savings, yet providing them with the perfect excuse to put off their projects until later, to ensure they ‘Do It Right’.

Gaunt continues: “We’ve been able to be really creative through our partnership with Channel 4. The takeovers and ad pausing via on demand push the creative boundaries and showcase the ‘15% off sale’ in a fun and engaging way, and to work with Dom Joly on this has been brilliant - he’s been able to add his trademark wit to our campaign.”

Rob Ramsey, Partnership Leader, Channel 4 says: “We’re thrilled to have worked with Wickes to build on our existing partnership with this fun ad break innovation that aligns home grown talent, Dom Joly, with Channel 4’s Homes on 4 sponsor this bank holiday weekend.”

The campaign was created by iris, with media planning by Carat. The Channel 4 takeover was organised by 4 Sales and The Story Lab, who look after the brand’s on-going sponsorship of the ‘Homes on 4’ programming.