KappAhl is going to run its biggest advertising campaign ever and has teamed up with the American actor Dustin Hoffman. The theme is "You Look Great" and in the commercial, which was recently filmed in Los Angeles, it's KappAhl's female customers receiving the compliments from the actor.
"You Look Great is our new advertising platform and we will be launching more campaigns using this platform throughout the autumn," says Cathrine Simonsson, KappAhl's marketing manager.
Many companies use famous people for their ads, but when KappAhl teamed up with the superstar Dustin Hoffman for their new commercial it was done a little differently. The commercial will be shown on different TV channels from 21 September.
"We don't want to hire well-known personalities as clothes hangers to sell our clothes. KappAhl's business concept is to create value-for-money fashion for everyone. We focus on the ordinary person. Dustin Hoffman was happy to have a minor role in the commercial," states Cathrine.
In the commercial we meet an ordinary woman. She's middle-aged with a home and family. She's getting ready for an important job interview. She's self-assured but still a little uncertain. This is when Dustin Hoffman arrives as a fantasy figure providing encouragement and advice.
"We looked at many of Hollywood's famous actors but fell for Dustin Hoffman. He is charismatic and very charming. Any woman would love to receive a compliment from him," says Cathrine.
The commercial was recently filmed over a long, hectic day in Los Angeles.
"Mr Hoffman was extremely focused and positive when he arrived early in the morning. He had read up on KappAhl and prepared himself through meetings with our editor. He was specifically interested in our environmental work. The filming took all day and we finished a few hours later than planned. He came up with many good ideas during filming, which we've actually used in the final version," she explains.
You Look Great will not only be seen in this new commercial. The campaign will also receive major coverage in ads, DM and in-store communication.
KappAhl is one of Sweden's biggest fashion chains. However, it has been seen as rather anonymous in recent years, something the company would like to change.
"We want KappAhl to be more charismatic and show the world who we are by communicating our values. We want to really underpin the brand while creating a tighter relationship between our customers and ourselves. We are therefore launching the new You Look Great advertising platform," says Christian W. Jansson, KappAhl's CEO. You Look Great is a compliment and a tribute to all KappAhl's customers.
"We are an unusually personal fashion chain and we respect our customers. We don't want people to adopt all the beauty ideals constantly being fired at them. We think that beauty comes from a person's own personal style and charisma. But when our customers want to brighten up their day and dress up we want to help them express their personality and look as good as possible," clarifies Cathrine.
KappAhl is investing heavily in getting the fit just right. The business concept includes getting clothing made in as many sizes and models as possible. The idea is that everyone should be able to shop at KappAhl. You shouldn't need a special body to be a customer.
"Clothing from KappAhl should be seen as a compliment and You Look Great is a very special compliment. English has been chosen for the message to work on lots of markets. It's easy to understand and it's straightforward and simple," she concludes.
KappAhl's advertising agency is ANR BBDO.
Facts in brief about Dustin Hoffman:
* He has received seven Oscar nominations and won two Oscars for his roles in "Kramer vs. Kramer" in 1979 and "Rain Man" in 1988. His breakthrough was in 1967 in "The Graduate". * Other films he's been in include "Midnight Cowboy" in 1969, "All the President's men" in 1976, "Tootsie" in 1982, "Wag the dog" in 1997 and "Finding Neverland" in 2004. * He currently has a number of different film projects underway. He will be appearing again in time for Christmas in the comedy "Stranger Than Fiction" with Will Ferrell, Queen Latifah and Emma Thompson. * The film premier of "Perfume: The Story of a Murderer" will appear in January next year. The film is based on the successful novel of the same name.
Pictures of Dustin Hoffman and the filming of KappAhl's commercial can be downloaded at www.kappahl.com under the image bank "Other".
For more information, please contact: Cathrine Simonsson, Marketing Manager KappAhl, tel +46 31 771 55 74, mobile +46 704 71 55 74 Kajsa Räftegård, Vice President, Public Relations, mobile +46 70 471 56 49
KappAhl sells clothes for women, men and children in more than 260 stores in Sweden, Norway, Finland and Poland. We offer value-for-money fashion for regular people. Our customers are mostly women over 30 years of age with a partner and family. The KappAhl Group employs more than 3,500 people, and sales for the most recent financial year totalled SEK 5 billion including VAT. The head office is located in Mölndal, on the outskirts of Gothenburg, Sweden's second largest city. KappAhl shares are listed on the Stockholm Stock Exchange. Further information is available on www.kappahl.com
