The first time I saw the new adverts for Dixons.co.uk was on my way back from Gatwick, and even half-asleep after a overnight flight, I couldn’t help but notice them.
For those that haven’t seen the new ads, they talk humourously and tongue-in-cheek about an offline competitor (the first I saw was Harrods, and now there are ads featuring Selfridges and John Lewis too), and suggests “then go to dixons.co.uk and buy it”. This is something savvy consumers have known for a while – browse offline, get some good advice from the more knowledgeable staff in the large department stores, then hit the internet for the best price.
The Harrods and Selfridges ads are great fun as there is the right mix of humour and brand recognition to instantly get who is the focus of the advert. The Marc Jacobs sandals and ‘Pierre’ at Harrods are an inspired touch of copywriting. However, the campaign seems to have attracted criticism focused on the John Lewis version of the advert, with John Lewis themselves questioning why you would admit a competitor’s customer service was better than yours.
I don’t think this is the point though. Electronics has always been about two things – features and price. The product itself is the same wherever you purchase it, and with consumers tightening their spending, price is the real differentiator. (Aftersales and customer service still varies massively, of course.) All the new Dixons adverts do is poke a little fun, in a graphically interesting way, and brighten up many people’s early mornings. Compared with many adverts on the tube (which are normally dire), this is something that actually makes you put down the Metro for a few seconds.
And that surely is the whole point of advertising? They have communicated what others have always thought of the brand and the service they offer, in a way that cuts through all the other advertising clutter. Along the way they’ve generated some media interest and sparked a bit of a debate, and as the saying goes ‘all news is good news’.