Grey London showcases Very's one-stop-shop retail offering

The campaign captures the recognisable chaos that ensues when a family is getting ready to leave the house for an event

By Creative Salon

16 March 2023

V ery has launched a new insight-led Spring campaign showcasing its one-stop-shop retail offering and capturing the recognisable chaos that ensues when a family is getting ready to leave the house for an event – the kind of moment that is so frequent when Spring arrives.

Very’s customer insight shows that families look forward to Spring as a key point in their calendars. It represents the end of winter and the start of planning for warmer months, ushering in renewed positivity. Families intend to spend more time outside, including in the garden; plan days out and holidays, and attend events together.

The digital retailer provides a one-stop-shop for families, combining items across fashion, electrical, home and more with flexible ways to pay via its VeryPay platform. In Spring, this translates into an appetite for fashion, garden items, and gifting, which are all represented in Very’s latest campaign.

As families move into Spring, their wardrobes get an update. Very’s full price clothing sales grew between March 2022 and April 2022, while ‘women’s dresses’ was the retailer’s seventh highest search term over the same period. Meanwhile, families venture into the garden again. Organic searches on Very for ‘garden furniture’ rose in February 2022 and peaked in March 2022. Consumers remain focused on items for their children, even in challenging economic times, while seasonal events make gifting an important focus, with year-round birthdays representing the biggest UK gifting market after Christmas.

Incorporating these themes, the new campaign dramatises a moment all families experience, but our savvy customer is cool, calm and collected because she has prepared the family with the help of Very – it’s her not so secret, secret.

The campaign’s TV ad, called ‘Getting Ready’ and created by Grey London, introduces us to Mum, who talks to us as she attempts to get her family ready for yet another Spring gathering. With lost car keys, a daughter who doesn’t want to go, last minute gift wrapping, a barking puppy and a son who won’t part from his superhero costume, we see chaos at every turn moments before it’s time to leave.

Thanks to mum, who has prepared at Very, the family miraculously makes it out of the house together in perfect – and stylish – form to attend Nan’s 60th birthday. But just as we think they are in the clear, the son leaps into action revealing a sneakily hidden superhero costume.

Ahead of launch, the campaign tested positively. Key comments captured during research point to an authentic, relatable narrative that encapsulates family life, particularly in relation to the pre-event urgency in getting the whole family out of the house on time. Comments included:

“Always reassuring to know that’s other people’s reality as well,” in relation to the ad as a whole.
“It makes you think, ‘Yes, that’s exactly how it is,’” in relation to mum trying to get everyone dressed.
“They’re for everybody, for kids and adults,” in relation to Very as a shopping destination for everything all in one place.

Created by Grey London, the 30-second TVC launches on 16 March 2023 on TV, video-on-demand and cinema, accompanied by three 10-second cut-downs. Campaign stills were also taken on the day for BTL content.

Jessica Myers, Chief Marketing Officer at Very, said: “We want our new Spring campaign to leave families in no doubt that Very is on their side. Our research shows that Spring not only brings renewed positivity for our customers, but that families are laser focused on important categories. Events drive fashion uptake, better weather leads to demand for garden items, and parents continue to prioritise items for their children. All of these themes feature in our campaign.

“Our brand is about celebrating real-life, relatable family moments. We have focused on the hero of the story, our core customer, whilst highlighting the flexibility, convenience and value they want. We can’t wait to see the response.”

Jesse Little, Creative Director at Grey London, added: "As Very’s customers look for help getting ready for Spring, we had a blast bringing to life the brilliant insight that getting ready for anything can be challenging when you have kids. Working once again with director-dream-team Jocelyn & Dawn at Biscuit, we love how they capture the energy of family life in a beautifully relatable way."

This is the second ad Grey has produced for Very that has been directed by Jocelyn DeBoer and Dawn Luebbe from Los Angeles-based production company Biscuit Filmworks. The pair also worked together to create Very’s Christmas campaign. The voiceover for the ads is provided by TV presenter Vernon Kay. Music for the latest ad is the classic dance track Ride on Time by Black Box.