Mobas lead creative Greg Bryant shares his thoughts on the latest advertising campaign from the high street health and beauty store Boots.
Please no. Just no. If I didn’t know this was an ad for Boots it would be bad enough, but for such a big brand, that usually gets it spot on, I was really shocked by this one. When I first saw it, I found it cringy, I was a bit embarrassed to watch, but wanted to see which budget brand thought this was a good idea, then when it was revealed as Boots, even my wife was shocked! Her words summed up my feelings perfectly: “WHAT?!?!?! Boots??!”.
Everything about it feels wrong, an awful cover version for the soundtrack with rewritten, cheesy words; really bad acting; and a menu of clichés. Also, suggestions that some women are stuck up or bitchy just because of the way they look (the woman on the advertising screen and another sitting up on the sun lounger) is bordering on offensive. It’s not even an original concept: it’s five years too late to get onto this particular bandwagon. Dove did it brilliantly many moons ago, and other brands have done it since, in a much better way – the current JD Williams or George at Asda campaigns, for example, who have managed to be inclusive to all. Nothing ground-breaking about them, just well shot, with a variety of different models and catchy soundtracks.
It’s clear to see what Boots are trying to achieve with this campaign, and the sentiment is admirable, but unfortunately, they’ve missed the mark with this one. Massively.
