Home improvement retailer, Wickes, is again trying to help ‘Cure Housebarrassment’ - the feeling of unease or embarrassment at the thought of guests seeing certain elements of one’s home - in its latest creative campaign from VCCP.

The latest TV and multichannel advert – Unicorn – which, debuted towards the end of last year, reflects how our homes are playing an even bigger role in our lives and are on display to everyone, including our work colleagues via video calls. The story shows how one homeowner goes to extreme lengths to disguise her kitchen background on a work video call through the use of a quirky unicorn themed background, before finally enlisting Wickes to help transform it into the kitchen of her dreams.

With the kitchen at the heart of the home more than ever before, there is an increased importance to create a space that people love and want to spend time in, especially as more of us are likely to use it for both work and family life. The campaign focuses on this amplified need to maximise social space whilst showcasing Wickes’ innovative solutions as part of its kitchen showroom range, including workstations that can be integrated into stylish new kitchen designs.

Latest research shows that 45% of UK workers predict a change in their employers’ approach to flexible working once the COVID-19 lockdown is lifted^[1] and UK employers expect ‘working from home’ numbers to remain at over a third once the COVID-19 pandemic is over^[2].

Gary Kibble, Chief Marketing & Digital Officer at Wickes, said: “Brits who have traditionally been working in offices are now finding themselves virtually inviting colleagues' into their homes every day.

We really wanted to bring to light how we’re currently living with a little humour whilst showcasing an offering that can support our new way of life.”

“As a business we work hard to adapt and deliver innovative products, services and solutions that reflect consumers' ever-changing needs and to help the nation feel house-proud. And we can see there is a growing demand for at-home workstations, which is why we’re really excited to show how we can  integrate these beautiful ‘kitchen offices’ into our designs in this advertising campaign.

Kibble continues, “Over the past few months, with a digitally led approach,  we have developed our on-line presence and digital services significantly across all areas of our business; one of our biggest successes was the launch of our Virtual Design Service, allowing customers more options to shop with us in the way they wanted. I’m pleased to say that we’ll continue to invest and innovate as a leading home improvement retailer in order to provide customer friendly solutions in the future.”

Information on the new kitchen showroom range and the virtual design service, as well as finishing touches including tiles, paint and flooring can be found at https://www.wickes.co.uk.

 The latest advert is available to view here.