Yazoo's Iconic 'Only You' Soundtracks This Year's Boots Christmas Ad
#ShowThemYouKnowThem is Ogilvy UK's first work for Boots'. The campaign brings to life the unique connection between two real sisters, demonstrating how a single meaningful gift can show someone you truly know them. Throughout the film we witness two sisters connect, when a Christmas gift from one to the other taps into the special bond they share – developed through their life in moments both big and small, heartfelt and fun.
Native started working with the Boots team at Ogilvy very early on in the process, conducting a number of searches and helping the creative team explore many different lyrical and stylistic approaches. When the director Benito Montorio (Pulse Films), came on board - everybody realised that it was important for the track to conjure a nostalgic feel for the audience as well as reflect the complicated relationship between the sisters as they experience life and grow older. After auditioning hundreds of tracks, some of which came very close to being chosen, the agency, director and brand decided that the fantastic 1982 hit record 'Only You' by Yazoo (featuring Alison Moyet) nailed the brief.
Commenting on the process behind choosing this track, Dan Neale says:
"I have always loved "Only You" - it is a great song that has a lot of understated heart about it. That's one of the things that made it such a great fit for this film; the team were determined to have a soundtrack with warmth but that never got too slushy. Also because the Flying Pickets version was Christmas number one in 1983, it has a kind of festive connection that just felt right. The era of the track was key as well, because as soon as we saw the visuals it was obvious that you needed something truly of the sister's era to resonate with the authenticity of the visuals. Ogilvy and Benito went to incredible lengths on this shoot to work with actual sisters - and I think that comes across in the performances. We wanted the music to strengthen that."
We worked closely with Mute Records, Sony/ATV and Yazoo to not only clear the track, but gain access to the original master tapes so that Ogilvy could work with a music production company and create a new mix with additional strings to really help bring out the emotion of this wonderfully nostalgic film. We're really proud to have placed this track on such a strong film, and loved working with everyone involved".
