Michael Hill International launched its new ‘We’re for Love’ brand platform in Australia, New Zealand, Canada and the United States with two new commercials during the Super Bowl on Sunday February 1. The commercials aired during the game in Canada and the Chicago area where the majority of Michael Hill’s North American stores are based while viewers in Australia and New Zealand saw the ads aired on all the major networks.
The commercials, created by NZ ad agency Colenso BBDO, feature 30 “real people” out of 1200 who were selected on the streets of New York City and asked about their experiences in love and ‘what would you do for love?’
The 30-second commercial, aired in the US, features virtually no jewellery while the second ad, the one-minute ad aired in Canada, only features short glimpses of Michael Hill jewellery – both instead focus on a wide range of people celebrating love. The shorter commercial features closeups of numerous people, mainly staring directly at the camera, with statements such as ‘I’d die for it’, I’d cheat for it’, ‘I’d lie for it’ and ‘I’d turn for it’ printed on the screen as ‘On Top of the World’ by Mindy Smith and Inland Sky plays in the background.
The second commercial features people (alone and in couples) “in love” with a voice-over discussing love and concludes: “Jewellery is a mark of love, it says someone loves you, even if that someone is yourself. When given it’s an expression of love. Young love, old love, motherly love, straight love, gay love, forbidden love, brotherly love, it seals love, nurtures, creates, kindles and declares love for all the world to see. We don’t care what kind of love you’re into, we just want to make sure you get your fair share.”
Michael Hill International’s chief marketing officer Joe Talcott said the company is very excited about its new creative direction.
“Colenso have taken our brand DNA and brought it to life in a visual and emotional experience. ‘We’re for Love’ uses beautiful, poignant and thought-provoking stories of real love, told by the people behind them, to encourage people to think about the nature of love. We feel these people represent a cross section of individuals who we do business with every day in New Zealand, Australia, United States and Canada”.
He said the commercials are designed to engage and provoke emotional responses.
“We are advocates of love, in all its forms. Every piece of jewellery we sell is an expression of love and our goal is to help people create more love in the world. We believe everyone regardless of age, sex, and relationship status will find something that resonates with them.”
Talcott said the company’s decision to invest in air time during the Super Bowl “was made to get the Michael Hill brand in front of as many people as possible” in two of its key markets –the US and Canada.
“The NFL Super Bowl XLIX is a huge event attracting a massive audience both in the USA, Canada and across the globe…We’ve been working on this campaign for over a year now and have invested a substantial amount in the development of the platform – so to be able to launch it in key markets during the Super Bowl was very exciting.”
He said the TV commercials will be supported by catalogues, online content, outdoor advertising, cinema, social media and in-store signage and will appear in all Michael Hill International global markets.
The Michael Hill ads can be viewed here and here