Adwatch (Mar 28) top 20 recall: Boots

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It's five years since Boots gave us a masterclass in retail marketing with its 'Here come the girls' Christmas ad. Sassy, funny and confident enough not to take itself too seriously, it knew its audience. In addition, it showed off tons of product. It was an absolute winner.

Fast-forward to now, and what's changed? Well, the bloodbath on the high street provides us with a fascinating marketing spectator sport in separating the retail heroes from the retail zeros.

In one corner, there's the innovative glitterati such as Sainsbury's, Waitrose and M&S, which recognise that value has shifted from chavvy to savvy, and are taking market share by the scruff of the neck, marrying a quality promise of 'Eat well for less' with a memorable initiative such as 'Feed your family for a fiver'.

In the other corner, there's the panickers such as Tesco which are scurrying to the nearest 'Price Drop' campaign. Without fresh insight to reframe everyday value, 'Every little helps' feels smaller by the day.

Then there's the plodders, the businesses that just get on with doing what they do, with little fuss. This seems to be where Boots has ended up. Still flogging '3 for 2', under a generic promise of 'feel good'. There's no digital thingumajigs, no radical Shoreditch social-media Groupon-style deals, no inspiring community project such as Levi's Braddock Town, no trailblazing second-screen interactive wotsit. Yaaaaaawn.

Instead, we have marketing that aims to keep on keeping it simple. Thirty seconds of good old-fashioned telly: check. 'Here come the girls' music to boost branding: check. '3 for 2' promotion: check. So far, so predictable.

What raises this ad above the forgettable is strategic and creative crafting that adds executional charm. Somewhere in the mix there's a neat insight linked to the spring being a time for trying out new stuff. So we see one girlfriend wait for the other as she 'comes out of hibernation'. It may not be extraordinary, but what it lacks in edgy ambition it makes up for in humanity: it's confident, fun, tongue-in-check and true to its target.

It's probably just about enough to keep its customers coming through the door, buying a bit of product and feeling good about Boots.

Sometimes keeping things simple is simply good enough.

Verdict: 5/10.

There's lots to like here at a craft level. However, Boots does feel like it's in danger of becoming formulaic. Overall, a bit of a missed opportunity.

Adwatch (Mar 28): Top 20 recall TV ads
Latest	Mar-21	Brand	Agency/TV Buyer	Recall
rank				%
1	(–)	Aldi	McCann Erickson Manchester/Universal McCann Manchester	44
2	(11=)	Tesco	The Red Brick Road/ Initiative	41
3	(–)	Rowntree's Randoms	JWT London/Mindshare	39
4	-5	Cadbury Creme Egg	Fallon London/PHD	38
5	(–)	Argos	CHI & Partners/Mindshare	37
6	(–)	ING Direct	BMB/PHD	36
7	(–)	Territorial Army	Publicis/M4C	35
8	(8=)	Sky TV	Brothers & Sisters/ MediaCom	33
9	(–)	Boots	Mother/OMD UK	32
10	(–)	DFS	Krow/MediaCom	29
11	(-)	Dettol	Euro RSCG Worldwide/ Zenith	27
12	(-)	Volkswagen Up	Grabarz + Partner/ Mediacom	26
13=	(21=)	The Sun on Sunday	CHI & Partners/ Mindshare	25
13=	(-)	Homebase	Leo Burnett/ Mindshare	25
15	(-)	Jacamo	The Gate Films/Carat	24
16=	(15=)	Currys & PC World	M&C Saatchi/Walker Media	22
16=	(2)	L'Oreal (Casting Creme Gloss)	McCann Erickson/Zenith Optimedia	22
16=	(10)	KFC	Bartle Bogle Heagarty/ Walker Media	22
19=	(17)	Morrisons	DLKW Lowe/MEC	19
20	(-)	Lloyds Pharmacy	TDA/Carat	18

Webwatch (Mar 21): Top 20 recall online ads
Latest	Mar-21	Brand	Agency/TV Buyer	Recall
rank				%
1	-4	Netflix	Goodby Silverstein & Partners/MEC	28
2	(–)	Experian	In-house/Harvest	26
3	-8	Virgin Media	DDB London/Fifty6	23
4	-1	Sky TV	Brothers & Sisters/ MediaCom	21
5=	(–)	Match.com	In-house/In-house	18
5=	(–)	T-Mobile	Saatchi & Saatchi/MEC	18
7=	(–)	Cadbury Creme Egg	CMW London/PHD	17
7=	(–)	Vodafone	TBG Digital/TBG Digital	17
9=	(–)	Orange	Poke/MEC	16
9=	-7	Comparethe market.com	VCCP/ZenithOptimedia	16
11	(-)	Halifax	Adam & Eve/MEC	14
12	(-)	Walkers	AMV BBDO/OMD UK	9
13	(-)	Royal Caribbean Cruises	JWT London/AMS Media Group	8
14=	(-)	Park Inn	In-house/Mediacom	7
14=	(-)	Ford Ranger	Wunderman/Mindshare	7
14=	(-)	Natwest	Glue Isobar/ Zenith Optimedia	7
14=	(-)	Boohoo.com	In-house/In-house	7
18	(-)	3 Mobile Network	Wieden & Kennedy London/Mindshare	6
19=	(-)	GiffGaff	M	5
19=	(-)	Digigood	In-house/In-house	5

This article was first published on marketingmagazine.co.uk