This week sees the launch of B&Q’s latest TV advert, part of its fully integrated spring campaign. According to B&Q, the aim of the campaign is “to remind customers that whatever their home improvement need or challenge, B&Q always has a brilliant solution, and that B&Q colleagues are enthusiastic problem solvers – always on hand to help them achieve their projects.”

This latest campaign sees B&Q employees once again take centre stage, reflecting their position at the heart of the brand. The latest ad in the Spring series launches today (April 6) with peak spots inlcuding ITV1’s Broadchurch and C4’s Formula 1.

The ad is fronted by a team of B&Q colleagues who come to a customer’s rescue by effortlessly improving his garden in a series of synchronised moves. Filmed in real time with no camera trickery used, everything from the shearing through of a wire to create a domino effect of flowers sinking into the soil, to decking clicking into place with a real barbeque popping up, to a shed falling from the sky – with the end result revealing a perfectly formed garden, ready for the family to enjoy. As well as the garden ad, WCRS has created a kitchen ad using similar production techniques in order to demonstrate the idea that whatever the size or shape of your kitchen, B&Q always has a solution.

In addition to TV with heavyweight media support, the fully-integrated Spring campaign goes across paid, owned and earned channels. New elements include consumer experiential, Facebook Live and digital OOH.

B&Q customer and marketing director Richard Sherwood said: “Our colleagues have always been the greatest part of our business, and casting real store staff as the stars of our fully-integrated Spring campaign is recognition of the great help and advice they offer our customers.  The real-time production technique for the TV ads is not only an amazing feat – it reflects B&Q’s ‘can-do’ personality; the reason many customers have shopped with us for nearly 50 years.”  

WCRS executive creative director Ross Neil said: “B&Q are rightly proud of their colleagues for their knowledge, friendliness and can-do attitudes, so we wanted to feature them front and centre in the ads, but this always comes with some risk because you never know if they’ll be able to act. What we have made here is a very elegant solution to showing the helpfulness of B&Q colleagues and they’ve come out looking great. Some genuine heroes in these ads. Ben Scott of RSA has turnedthe scripts from complexity to beautifully choreographed pieces that really show off the willingness, dedication and expertise of B&Q colleagues in a way that is a joy to watch.”

The ads can be viewed on YouTube: Garden- https://youtu.be/9_u5l_Y51og  Kitchen- https://youtu.be/kciNi7CBw5E