Harvey Nichols abandons festive spirit in favour of ‘selfish giving’

Harvey Nichols is breaking away from the Christmas ad mould with a marketing campaign that encourages people to abandon festive giving and spend less on their friends and family in order to treat themselves.

The online film shows customers giving their loved ones gifts such as ‘100 per cent wood toothpicks’ and ‘water resistant sink plugs’. They are then pictured with their gifts to themselves, including a Givenchy tote bag and Louboutin leather pumps.

The luxury department store has created a ‘Sorry, I Spent It On Myself’ gift collection to coincide with the marketing push that will be available to buy both online and in store. It is also encouraging customers to tweet a picture of their desired Christmas present with the hashtag #SpentItOnMyself.

The campaign, created by agency Adam & Eve/DDB is in marked contrast to other Christmas ads, which all look to convey the Christmas spirit. John Lewis, also by the agency, is using an animated bear and hare to spread its message of giving the perfect gift, while Marks & Spencer has launched a celebrity-filled fairytale campaign and Sainsbury’s is promoting a film showing real people’s Christmas celebrations.

This is not the first time Harvey Nichols has launched a tongue-in-cheek Christmas campaign. Last year’s effort showed women shooting lasers out of their eyes after discovering they had turned up at a party wearing the same dress as someone else.

Julia Bowe, marketing director at Harvey Nichols, says: “At this time of year it can be all too easy to get caught up in the spirit of giving. We hope that our new ‘Sorry, I Spent It On Myself’ gift collection will provide our customers with low-cost gifting options for others that will allow them to spoil themselves that little bit more this Christmas.”

Take a look at our round-up of all the Christmas ads.

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