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Specsavers appoints AJF to its creative with first work released

Specsavers has appointed AJF as its creative services agency for Australia and New Zealand following a competitive pitch process last year.

The agency takes over from Cummins & Partners, which was appointed to the creative account in 2014. Commenting to Mumbrella, a Cummins & Partners spokesperson said that the agency parted ways with the brand a year ago as Specsavers began bringing its creative services in-house.

 

“Over the last couple of years Specsavers had increasingly taken work in-house, which is their prerogative. When their procurement team decided to review the services agreement and wanted us to pitch, we politely declined. We enjoyed our five years with Specsavers and we’re proud of the work we did for them, including many locally produced campaigns. We didn’t just roll out global work. Some of the most notable work being Priceless Eyes and the Error Ridden Ad. We parted ways amicably almost a year ago,” the spokesperson said.

Specsavers director of marketing, Jane Hoban said: “We were very impressed with AJF’s strong creative ideation, focus on delivering results and understanding of our brand.

“They have a proven track record of helping their clients grow through strategic brand planning and creative development. We believe they are the right agency to support us in delivering our brand ambitions over the coming years.”

AJF executive creative director, Joshua Stephens added: “We’re delighted to be partnering with the team at Specsavers and bringing fresh thinking to such a well-known and trusted healthcare brand in Australia.

“We’re looking forward to building on the brand’s existing strong foundation, leveraging the outcomes Specsavers delivers every day through their highly-skilled people and the genuine passion they feel for their customers, partnerships and communities.”

AJF’s first campaign for Specsavers launched on 22 April in New Zealand and rolls out in Australia today, showing the perks of multifocal lenses.

The ad is a spoof of the ‘Dueling Banjos’ scene in the 1972 film Deliverance, showing people in a library playing the same tune on their glasses chains which hold multiple pairs of glasses with different lenses.

The campaign continues the ‘Should have gone to Specsavers’ brand platform which was launched by McCann, prior to the account shifting to Cummins.

“We’ve taken the much loved Should’ve Gone to Specsavers construct and evolved it to highlight a particular problem that glasses wearers often experience. While it still has the witty humour that Should’ve is known for, we’ve tried to raise the bar and make it a little more insightful,” Stephens said.

“Whether you keep your second pair of specs on a string, on your head or in your pocket, people with multiple prescriptions aren’t strangers to inconvenience. We want multifocal wearers, who would otherwise need to make annoying spec changes, to feel reassured that Specsavers’ multifocal lenses will allow them to see near and far with just one pair,.”

The campaign will be running on TV, radio, outdoor, digital display, social, press, in-store and in shopping centres until 26 May.

The Dueling Banjos scene in Deliverance can be viewed here:

Credits

Client: Specsavers
Director of Marketing and Contact Lenses ANZ: Jane Hoban
Head of Brand Creative ANZ: Carly Wickenton
Head of Marketing Planning ANZ: Shaun Briggs
Senior Marketing Manager Brand Creative ANZ: Joanne Dixon
Marketing Executive Brand Creative ANZ: Sarah Bragg
Merchandising Manager – Product ANZ: Margarita Dimaria
Studio Manager ANZ: Yvonne Manchee
Lead Designer ANZ: David Cross

Agency: AJF
Executive Creative Director: Joshua Stephens
Creative Director: George Freckleton
Senior Art Director: Ed Carveth
Senior Copywriter: Brent Liebenberg
Senior Producer: Liesel Haug
Senior Photographic Producer: Ilona Phyland
Strategy Director: Jill Cummins
Strategy Planner: Andrea Nelson
Client Partner: Susan Bird
Senior Account Director: Sarah Dalli
Senior Account Manager: Emma Keesing

Production
Director: Christopher Hill, Airbag
Producers: Megan Ayers & Sophie Woods, Airbag
Music Composition: Otis Studios
Sound Production: Final Sound

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