Jean-Claude Van Damme calls on people to trade in their DVDs for Sony’s Great DVD Amnesty
Sony Pictures Home Entertainment will launch a new brand campaign this week, created by independent advertising agency iris Sydney.
The campaign, ‘The Great DVD Amnesty’, which features international film star Jean-Claude Van Damme as its spokesman, is aimed at reconnecting consumers emotionally with the category to help drive sales of DVDs during the busy Christmas period.
The campaign will feature a 30-second TV spot, a fully integrated digital campaign which will include a website dvdamnesty.com.au, online advertising and social media activity and nationwide retail communications.
The idea is based on the insight that deep at the back of people’s DVD collections are long-forgotten DVDs taking up valuable space and leaving no room for new purchases. ‘The Great DVD Amnesty’ is their chance to clear out this deadwood, no questions asked, and receive a cash reward for their efforts. Consumers will be offered $5 cash back on their unwanted DVDs.
Tom Hoskins, creative director at iris Sydney,said: “Every great cause needs a hero and when you’re looking for someone totake out the trash and clean up people’s DVD collections, Van Damme is yourman. His own back catalogue of films sits at the sweet spot of the DVDs we’retrying to sell and so he was the ideal choice to be ‘judge, jury andexecutioner’ for the amnesty.”
DavidFlanagan, national marketing manager for Sony Pictures Home Entertainment,said: “iris has delivered a big, unique, groundbreaking idea based on a strongconsumer truth and it’s brilliantly executed. It’s got the whole businessexcited and the positive response we’ve had from retailers is unprecedented.”
Themedia strategy was devised by Slingshot Media Ventures and PR managed byHausmann Communications. Global agency iris’ 40+ strong Australian operation,which has offices in Sydney and Melbourne, counts a number of blue-chip brandsamong its clients including Sony Ericsson, Sony, Shell and adidas.
Credits:
Client:Sony Pictures Home Entertainment
Agency:iris Sydney
CreativeDirector: Tom Hoskins
PlanningDirector: Ian Cassidy
GroupAccount Director: Alasdair Robertson
Copywriting: Jasun Vare/Tom Hoskins
ArtDirector: Tom Hoskins
DigitalCreative/Art Director: James Griffiths
Retoucher:Ian Connor
Designer:Morris Rojas/Ronald Acevedo
Photographer:Plummer Kennedy Conspiracy
TVC& Video Production:
Director:Tom Hoskins
DOP:Plummer Kennedy Conspiracy
Creatives:Tom Hoskins/Barry Farrington/Jasun Vare
ProductionCompany: Plummer Kennedy Conspiracy/Sovifo (Brussels)
Editor:Drew Thompson @ Guillotine
Post:Cutting Edge
Music:Sam Petty
13 Comments
Wow, ya gotta be pretty unlucky to be launching this idea just one week after bonds ‘dodgy undy amnesty.’
Knowing that it must of taken months and months to bring this to life (with a pretty cool insight and an awesome way to express it) I’m sure these guys must have been kicking themselves that their “in market” date wasn’t just a few weeks earlier!
I really wanted to like this, sadly the execution is pretty poor. JCVD’s performance appears to have become more wooden with age.
There’s a lot of ‘amnesty’ ideas out there at the moment. Wine, undies, bras the list is long. I reckon ‘amnesty’ needs a twist now. Or maybe an amnesty on amnesty ideas?
Can you cash in fake dvd’s? I would actually make a profit from all my thai dvd’s i bought fot $2.
I like that this has JCVD roundhouse-kicking this campaign in the face… But I reckon this ‘amnesty’ idea could have been better used against piracy – buy a real one and send us a fake one to get money back etc (you get it). It also would have been a nice tie in to all those movies JCD has filmed in Thailand and all of Australia has bought from there.
The insight on DVD’s is, even the crap ones in your collection are loved, that’s why you purchased them in the first place. So not sure anyone will be wanting to make room on their shelf to go out and buy old chick flicks like 27 dresses. Although I’d be happy to send in a few of my girlfriends. For some reasons there’s two copies of Dirty Dancing on my shelf.
Anyone know when the rest of the website will be up and running? ‘Coming soon’ only really works for movie trailers.
This is very good. Feel for the team when they would’ve seen the undue amnesty. But this feels like the idea is solid and is well done. Nice site. Funny tv. Well done iris.
And no, I do not have a Van Damme tattoo.
TV spot is great.
Van dammmmmmage!
Let me guess, the target audience is 30+ males? The credits suggest it was a bit of a mans project. As much as I like the insight, as a 20-something female I’m not interested. If they’d used a younger, hotter actor I could’ve been, maybe.
Love it, well done.
I imagine using jcvd was aimed at getting max exposure online. The guy is an online phenomenon. Facebook app and various vids have 000s of hits already. Like it.
But doesn’t JCVD = shit DVDs? He’s made most of them! Shouldn’t he start by snap-kicking his own DVDs while he’s at it? Like the Facebook connect bit though that’s funny
JCVD is a pussy.
How’s the dirty dancing dvd? Is it good as others said?