The Campaign

When you buy into your own potential, it can make you feel like you can do amazing things. You are only as limited as you choose to be. Our idea was to amplify the role clothes play in the lives of everyone on this little planet of ours. The right skirt can make you feel like you are invincible. The way in which you finish off your look with that tie can add a spring to your step or bring energy to the way in which you walk into a room. Getting these things right has a transformational effect on your mindset. This is the core of what our campaign was all about. Visualising the potential of people through fashion. Our creative articulation was: #itsinyou. A celebration of the potential of a diverse, contemporary Australia.

Creative Execution

Alongside Adam we searched for a wide range of socially influential Australians from music, fashion, sport, TV, film, and the arts. We used our 3R (reach, relevance and resonance) methodology to ensure they were a great fit for the brand and would drive the conversation further. Each individual was ascribed one of seven emotions relevant to their field – power, confidence, elation, swagger, fierce, sensual, courage – and was capable of being enhanced by the transformative powers of the clothes sold by David Jones. Seven individual pieces of online film each concentrated on one person, one quality. We then combined the story-threads to make a powerful, brave statement combining all of our subjects and emotions into one piece of film to pack a surprising cultural punch in the digital channel. Surprising and culturally impactful, the campaign re-established David Jones as a contemporary contender, not afraid to be provocative to stay relevant.

This provoked lively and important debate across all TV, news and lifestyle media, as well as social with 7.5m views in a fortnight period. It was the No.1 trending topic on Twitter and Facebook, which resulted in a  sales jump of 12.2%, making it David Jones’ most successful campaign to date. By taking risks, leading the agenda, celebrating Australia’s potential, showcasing its diversity, tapping into its cultural channels and getting the whole country talking, David Jones has become more relevant than ever.

Our potential shoppers wanted a clear point of view; one that offered them solutions based on their individual needs, rather than the brands we wanted to push, and inspired them with happenings in popular culture. The role was to deliver big moments, so we engaged with some of Australia’s most controversial and influential people; people who’d unleashed their own potential and had the power to inspire others to do the same. As a brand, we chose a culturally polarising figure in today’s Australia. Sportsman Adam Goodes led our campaign and become our first Indigenous Ambassador. He, together with a host of other influential Australians, created our cast of role models, not fashion models. We relied on the overwhelmingly positive reaction, not the initial racism and negativity, to fuel the conversation and drive coverage. Ultimately giving Australians a voice to express their support for an inclusive society and to promote change.