Burberry, "From London with Love"

[youtube=http://youtu.be/ojBufhpPgMo]

This week has brought us the newest Burberry campaign, starring the young Beckham protege Romeo. By Burberry standards it will of course be fighting for the best Christmas advert of 2014, but honestly, I'm not sure of it's success.

It's cinematic styling and the cliche story of a young couple falling in love is all a bit too 'sweet' for me, and also for the brand that is Burberry. I can't help but feel that the story doesn't give away the brand's essence of classic British heritage for the Millennium consumer in the way that their in-store and online experiences do. It's as if they've created this elaborate advert to create a 'buzz' for any viewer watching television, by creating a warm Christmas viewing experience- one to compete against the likes of John Lewis. This is another confusing aspect of this film-like television campaign, John Lewis isn't a competitor of Burberry, so why do they feel the need to compete? To win awards? To attract new customers? Attracting new customers is not something that I believe will happen due to this campaign; Burberry is a well-known British designer brand, nearly everyone recognises it for it's signature check tartan and will buy for the quality and trust factor. If not, they'll be attracted by their new technology advancements that they've introduced through their websites and flagship store.

I do not understand how a cute little boy running around a loved-up dancing couple with an empty box of 'love' relates to Burberry (sorry Romeo). As romantic and pleasant as it is, this is another 'Burberry kisses' in my opinion- a popular campaign, but one that just doesn't reflect the brand's essence and new personality that they recently created by overhauling their marketing. However, this new campaign does reflect the core values of Burberry: tradition, through the use of the popular trench coat; Britain, through the London backdrop and soundtrack by British artist Ed Harcourt.

I feel that Christopher Bailey is stuck in his ways when creative directing, and I would love to see a more contemporary advertising campaign for Burberry through the use of their links with the music industry. “This Festive campaign celebrates everything we love about Burberry: the trench coat, the cashmere scarf, the amazing music,  the English weather and working with talented people,” says Christopher Bailey. But this just isn't exciting and innovative enough for me.

Within 3 days, it's received 2.5 million views on YouTube- showing it's a popular film. But is popular all that it is? For me there just isn't enough depth in the story line. This may just work for Burberry, contrary to my opinion: The Guardian wrote an article on Thursday 6th November, comparing the two British luxury brands Mulberry and Burberry, and whilst Mulberry's figures have fallen, Burberry's have risen and it's surely something to do with their incredible ability to tell a story through their digital communications and use of relatable products. I'm not entirely convinced by this newest campaign but it's undeniably going to be a talking point in a lot of homes this Christmas.