Luxury retailer Harvey Nichols practically swept the 2014 Cannes Lions with its last holiday campaign, which won a staggering four Grand Prix. Now the brand has returned with its highly anticipated follow-up.
Last year's effort, "Sorry, I Spent It on Myself," celebrated Christmas as a time to focus on the most important person in your life—yourself—while giving your loved ones some absolute rubbish gifts like gravel or office supplies. The campaign definitely had its critics, including the audience at the Cannes awards show, where it was the only ad booed by attendees.
So in the year since, has the retailer, like Ebenezer Scrooge before it, learned the true lessons of Christmas?
The new spot "Could I Be Any Clearer?", again from agency adam&eveDDB, features a doting niece signing a Christmas card for her dear Auntie Val, a woman who obviously loves her but unfortunately misses the mark when it comes to gift giving. (The camera pans to a puppy throw pillow, an iron and a djembe.)
She delivers the card to Auntie Val, who is thrilled by the visit and the gesture. But, of course, there's more to it than that.
If for some reason you can't watch the clip above and don't mind some spoilers, here's how it goes down: She opens the envelope to discover a Harvey Nichols greeting card, letting her know in no uncertain terms what her niece wants for Christmas (Charlotte Olympia silver Octavia sandals with a 6-inch heel, size 4 1/2—or 5, if that's all they've got).
As with last year's "Sorry, I Spent It on Myself" cheap gift collection, the brand's self-centered holiday cards are real and available in store or customizable online. You can browse the site to find an item you want, design your card, and share it.
It's the absolutely perfect way of letting your loved ones know just how horrible you are. But chances are, they probably already know.
