Your Shot: Why Now Is the Right Time for Argos to ‘GET SET GO’

For several years the Argos Aliens have proved much-loved and effective. But it was time for change. The brand needed to reposition itself as a leader in the marketplace and let the people know that it was there to rival the likes of Amazon for all manner of goods. And so was ‘GET SET GO ARGOS’, a complete brand reshuffle that’s launched with an eclectic 60-second spot (which you can see at the bottom of the page) complete with BMXs, break dancers, in-your-face negative colours and a fitting soundtrack. CHI&Partners ECD Jonathan Burley told all about saying goodbye to the old and hi to the new to LBB’s Addison Capper.

LBB> What was the brief like from Argos? This is a complete brand reshuffle - what was the starting point?

JB> The brief from Argos was just one word: SuperRetail (well, two words blended into one, if you’re being picky). That was a hugely exciting ambition – to get the brand back to being the 'category of one' retailer they were when they first started.

LBB> Why was now the right time to say goodbye to the aliens and welcome in new brand activity? 

JB> Ambitious clients. The aliens were a well-loved and ridiculously effective vehicle, and they happily delivered the various Argos stories we wanted to tell. But they were designed to charm rather than force reappraisal, and as the brand moved into a more innovative strategic area they sadly had to pack their wee puppet bags and bugger off back to the blue felt planet from whence they came. Bless them.

LBB> What was the strategic thinking behind the ‘Get Set Go Argos’ strap line? What kind of insights and conversations led to it?

JB> One of the first things we agreed with the client was the need for consumers to have an emotional connection with the ‘Brave New Argos’ that was coming. The problem with an expression like ‘emotional connection’, of course, is that it suggests a certain sub-John Lewis style of advertising. We coined the phrase ‘heartbeats, not heartstrings’ for the sort of work we wanted to create and the emotional response we wanted from it – which led in turn to the Get Set Go Argos brand endline.

LBB> The main focus of the brand re-launch is Argos’ reposition as a more digital focussed, online retail competitor. How did you go about reflecting that in the whole campaign?

JB> Again, I’d go back to that ‘category of one’ positioning – neither online or high street, but the unique best of both as a retailer. But we did want to reflect the modernity and non-conformity of the brand, hence creating a deliberately non-linear, poppy and energetic ad construct for the campaign.

LBB> With the break-dancers, BMXs, confetti, etc., it’s quite youth-focussed. Why was that demographic so important for Argos to connect with?

JB> Argos had perhaps laboured a little under the misapprehension that it was an old-fashioned and weary high-street shop that only delivered low-end products and was handy for an emergency purchase when your Morphy Richards iron gave up the ghost or you suddenly needed an inflatable paddling pool. Nothing could be further from the truth, and we wanted to give the campaign the body language and visual vernacular that reflected the modernity of the brand.

LBB> I love the music - the track’s title ‘How You Like Me Now?’ really hits me almost like a voiceover speaking to me. It’s as if the brand is saying, ‘yeah, I’ve changed, and how do you like it?!’. Was that intentional? How involved were you in the music choice? What was the process like? 

JB> It was a very intentional choice! We set out for the first ad in the campaign to really hammer home the message that this was not the brand you had come to know and take for granted. We loved the swagger and lyrical attitude of the track as soon as we placed it against the edit.

LBB> Aside from the TVC what activity is set for other mediums? 

JB> This new campaign informs every single touchpoint – from the vans and carrier bags to digital, outdoor, tactical advertising, online and even radio. A full 360 degree reinvention. Very, very exciting.

LBB> Argos is a proper, iconic British institution. How was it for you personally leading its brand transformation? Did you feel it added more pressure or enjoyment? 

JB> It was a huge pressure to deliver against the creative ambition of our clients, and personally I feel incredibly lucky to be a (very small) part of the team that has helped deliver the brand transformation. I can honestly say that pretty much every single person in the agency had a hand in the campaign – a first for me as an ECD, and something of which I’m inordinately proud.

LBB> How long did the campaign take from idea to launch?

JB> Eight months.

LBB> What have been the trickiest/most memorable moments and why? How did you overcome those tricky ones?

JB> With so much work being executed simultaneously, the slightest production hiccup could become a huge deal. An upcoming TV spot was filmed in an indoor skydiving wind tunnel in Eastern Europe (yes, such things do exist). We had an extremely tight shooting schedule, which was pretty much scuppered by the Russian oligarch who part-owned the place deciding to turn up

halfway through the shoot and commandeer the tunnel for himself and his lady friends to mess about in for the afternoon. Not great… Still, despite all that, I personally think it might turn out to be the best ad in the campaign. We’ll have to wait and see.