AdMiration feature: Currys' "IRL"

For this week’s AdMiration feature, we looked at consumer response to Currys’ “IRL” ad. The ad is part of a campaign meant to highlight the importance of in-store shopping experiences, especially when it comes to tech products.

Read on to get our 3-2-1 snapshot of the ad (3 facts, 2 learnings and 1 reflection) and learn how their ad was received based on our data.

The ad opens to a Currys employee standing outside of a Currys store saying, “At Currys we invited some die-hard online shoppers to remember the benefits of their tech ‘IRL’” as a group of people are shown walking into the store, eyes wide and mouths agape. 

The shoppers are seen trying to zoom in on product packaging by pinching their fingers on boxes and leaning in, playing with Shark hair products as another employee is trying to explain its features, as the original narrator continues, “For some, it can be a little overwhelming.” 

More shoppers are shown trying to take online shopping actions, such as swiping past products they physically pass by as the narrator continues, “They miss all the scrolling and zooming and clicking” as she tries to catch all the ‘swiped’ products from falling. 

Several scenes of shopping checking out products with wonder are shown as she continues, “But once they experience seeing, feeling and trying the tech it makes such a difference.”  

At this point, they make it to the checkout where a woman is seen asking if she can have next day delivery, to which the employee responds, “Uh you can just take it now...”     

The ad closes with the shoppers leaving the store carrying their purchases and giving thanks as they all climb into a Currys van. The door closes with the Currys logo and the words, “Beyond techspectations.” 

3 facts

• Currys’ “IRL” is a powerful execution, scoring in the top 15% of UK ads for driving sales and in the top 10% for boosting brand equity. It works well across all audiences, though is marginally stronger among men and those 18-35 years old.

• This spot has very strong linkage to Currys with 75% of people recalling the brand unaided after watching a clutter of ads. Currys takes center stage throughout the ad — the sign, logos purple color and branding on employees shirts all serve as distinctive assets that help this ad stand out for Currys in a competitive landscape. 

• Strong and relevant messaging of the better “in real life” shopping experience drives strong purchase uplift from 21% before watching the ad to 43% after watching the ad (+21%, significantly higher than the norm of +15%).

2 learnings 

• Humor and relatability enhance brand appeal. Humor in advertising is highly effective when done well. When the humor is both relatable and fits with the brand and story, it can truly command attention and engage people positively making the ad memorable. By highlighting the absurdity of online shopping behaviors in a physical store, Currys strikes a chord that’s both humorous and relatable. This helps create a memorable and enjoyable viewing experience which generates strong brand appeal.

• Implicit messaging of product benefits can be highly effective. “IRL” taps into a common shopper sentiment: the benefits of seeing, feeling and testing products in real life. By creating scenarios that emphasize the value of in-store experiences over online browsing, the ad successfully communicates its message without needing explicit explanations. This subtle approach makes the ad more engaging and effective, driving strong purchase uplift and appeal for the brand.

1 reflection

Is there a product truth you could uniquely tap into to drive growth for your brand? Currys’ “IRL” humorously demonstrates the benefits of “in real life” brick and mortar shopping to die hard online shoppers. The funny and enjoyable scenarios make fun of online shopping behaviors and show how much better and easier it can be in stores, all while showing their friendly and expert customer servicing.  This is a clever way to get people to come back to stores (in addition to using their online experience) and experience one of Currys’ competitive advantages of a great in-store experience. Currys is using several relevant insights to successfully portray funny and engaging scenarios that build brand appeal and drive more in-store visits. 

Currys' documentary style ‘IRL’ ad, created by Abbott Mead Vickers BBDO, emphasizes the value of in-store shopping and how crucial it is when making purchases in the tech world.

The 30 second ad spot is the latest in the campaign series (which currently includes 14 ads in 12 months!) such as “Laptop rage” and “New term.”

Aisling Lancaster, Currys’ Head of Brand and Advertising, shares, “‘Beyond techspectations’ allows us to place humor at the heart of a relatable human truth, in this case the activity of shopping in physical stores. While so many of us are familiar now with making purchases online, maybe we have forgotten what the in-store experience can be like! At Currys we’re proud to offer the full, omnichannel experience when shopping for tech.”

Jeremy Tribe and Dave Westland, AMV BBDO creative directors, also share, “Currys have a fantastic online set-up, but their commitment to stores and personal expertise is their biggest competitive advantage. So the idea of die-hard online shoppers opening their eyes to the wonders of real-life stores seemed like a great business insight and, importantly, really funny.”

The ad will run on TV and online, as well as on Roku streaming. 

Currys’ “IRL” is a powerful execution, scoring in the top 15% of UK ads for driving sales and the top 10% for boosting brand equity. It works well across all audiences, though is marginally stronger among men and those 18-35 years old.

“IRL” has a unique style and message for a tech retailer, showing the benefits of shopping “in real life” instead of online, making the ad highly distinctive (Ad Distinctiveness mean score: 3.9, is significantly higher than 3.6 norm) which helps it break through strongly.

Currys plays a prominent and pivotal role in the story, resulting in a strong recall of the brand (79% unaided brand recall) and helping it stand out from the clutter of other ads. The distinctive assets of the Currys brand name, logo, uniform, colors and store help viewers to clearly know that this is an ad for Currys.

The humorous and relatable storyline are highly enjoyable and create good emotional engagement (especially “like” and “laughter"), building strong brand appeal for Currys. 

Viewers particularly like that it’s funny and entertaining, the look and feel (style, people in the ad, scenario) and the message about how IRL shopping has many advantages to online shopping.

Here’s what people had to say:

• "I liked the way we saw the online shoppers still thinking they were online, by trying to enlarge pictures or text with their fingers or by swiping through the different options, as this was amusing and made the advert memorable."

• "The comical side of you doesn't need to swipe, people are always in techno mode. Also when asked about next day delivery was funny."

• "Just how funny and relatable to everyday it was - sometimes an advert doesn't need to be serious and full of information; a good laugh could easily catch people's attention and make them want to go.”

• "I liked the clear message about expert advice, the friendly atmosphere, and the focus on affordability. The visuals of different products were engaging, and it made shopping at Currys feel convenient and easy. The tone was upbeat and welcoming.."

• "It was a light hearted ad showing the benefit of seeing products and buying to take home."

• "It was very inclusive and showed the wide availability of products they sold."

• "I liked that the customer service staff seemed really knowledgeable."

• "It showed how good Currys' customer service is."

Viewers are emotionally drawn in and like the broadcast style set up of the Currys employee in the parking lot talking about how Currys is showing die hard online shoppers the experience of shopping “in real life”. People laugh at several moments when shoppers are struggling to stop their online shopping behaviors, but find it particularly funny when the woman blows the hair dryer into her mouth when playing with it, “scrolling” the kettles off the shelf, the man yelling hello into the dryer and the customer service person telling the woman “You could just take it now” in response to her question about if she can get next day delivery.

There’s clear playback of the key message that is demonstrated throughout the ad: That there are benefits of shopping in store. In addition, viewers take out more implicit messages that Currys offers a wide range of products that are better, as well as their friendly, reliable and expert staff. 

This ladders up to broader category benefits of “provides a wide range of products”(top 2 box: 69%)  and “has helpful customer service” (top 2 box: 54%) despite these messages not being conveyed explicitly.

The messages are highly relevant (Relevance mean 3.7 vs 3.3 norm) and meet people’s needs (Brand Meets Needs mean 4.0 vs 3.8 norm) resulting in strong purchase uplift for Currys!

Currys “IRL” taps into a highly relevant insight of people often defaulting to shopping online, especially for electrical and electronic goods The ad uses humor by showing people trying to use their online shopping behavior in store and how the “in real life” shopping experience is so much better. This is a great way to remind people about Currys, showcase their wide range of products and demonstrate their excellent customer experience to get people off the couch and into the stores, as well as create strong appeal for the brand. Well done, Currys!

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