Campaign Review: First works from The Reject Shop and Harvest Snaps
In Campaign Review, Mumbrella invites industry creatives and strategists to offer their views on recent ad campaigns. This week, Mumbrella asked Edge's Stu Turner and The Royals' Andrew Reeves to share their thoughts on the latest campaigns from The Reject Shop and Harvest Snaps.
Brand: The Reject Shop
Campaign: Rethink The Reject Shop
Agency: Thinkerbell
The verdict: A good use of humour that genuinely makes viewers ‘rethink’
Stu Turner, executive creative director at Edge, gave it a 7/10, saying:
As a huge fan of the Aldi work, I’m excited by the idea of another retailer in this space leaning into comedy. This first campaign from Thinkerbell feels like they are just starting to push the tone and I reckon with some more time it will get better and better. Same goes for the art direction, which feels like it’s just scraping the surface of what they could do with this platform. The proposition of ‘rethink’ feels slightly overdone in the industry, but the message is clear and it genuinely made me rethink The Reject Shop so perhaps old tricks do still work.
Andrew Reeves, head of strategy at The Royals, gave it a 7/10, saying:
The Reject Shop is always coming from behind isn’t it? The shop that sells the stuff no one wants?
But ‘Rethink’ is an invitation that comes at an optimal time for “every day low prices”. And this refresh does a great job of overcoming what I expect are entrenched stigma and rejection to make the brand a little cooler.
I’ve never given much thought to the reject shop. It had no discernible personality, and that’s what I like about the spots in particular- the mystery, the slightly silly over the top tone, the implication there is inside knowledge. Be interested to see where rethink goes.
It’s made me Rethink them.
Brand: Harvest Snaps
Campaign: Harvest snap out of it
Agency: Hero
The verdict: The strategy is solid but execution is not quite there yet
Stu gave it a 7/10, saying:
As a proud snack addict, I’m open to anything that promises the same dopamine hit with less naughty, so this campaign spoke to me. I like the integration of the brand name into the line, which is cleverly linked to the visual device used in the spots. This seems like a smart way to get the brand name known and remembered. Again, this feels like the beginning of something that could get a lot better in time as they explore that device in more unexpected ways.
Andrew gave it a 5/10, saying:
Ok. So snacks is a tough category. And this would have been a tough brief.
The strategy is sound. Deposition other snacks in their moment to shine makes sense and “harvest snap of it” performs its role of owning a moment just fine.
The executions are where I get lost. I think this was a cute horror script that sounded great on paper but suffers from having to pack too much into tiny spots.
Taste, health, five star benefits, pack shot and the enemy – all in 15-seconds – all the while I have to reconcile a burning arm or popcorn zombie.
A grade potential, B horror execution.
As told to Kalila Welch. If you’re a senior creative or strategist who would like to take part in a future Campaign Review, please email Kalila at kwelch@mumbrella.com.au.
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topics
Andrew Reeves
Calbee
Campaign Review
Edge
Harvest Snaps
hero
Stu Turner
The Reject Shop
The Royals
Thinkerbell
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