Burberry - 15 Years Of Billie Elliott

The festive season is great in so many ways, one being the glorious Christmas ads! I have just watched Burberry's seasonal advertisement and it is truly delightful. The ad made its debut at an event at its Regent Street store in London. The campaign was created as a homage to the film, 'Billy Elliott' to mark 15 years since it was originally released, the opening scene of the classic film was recreated within the ad.

What I particularly love about this advertisement is the way it oozes fun! It's easy for luxury brands to create a stern, serious, sultry feel to their ads to give that sense of prestige, so it's really endearing to see Burberry produce such a bubbly and cheerful ad.

The ad has a strong focus on famous faces, jam packed with celebrities. Those who feature include, Sir Elton John, George Ezra, James Bay, James Corden, Naomi Campbell, Michelle Dockery, Rosie Huntington-Whitley, Julie Walters and of course the face of Burberrys festive advertisement for the second year running, the adorable Romeo Beckham. At the end of the advertisement the names of those who appear within the ad are credited, displayed in a format similar to subtitles at the end of the film giving the ad a film like feel, linking it back to the Billie Elliott theme. By stating the names of those who feature within the ad, suggests that Burberry are aiming to make clear to watchers the status of those wearing their products within this ad, most likely in the hope that this will influence purchases.

The ad includes such a range of characters, its not surprising to see the likes of models, Rosie Huntington-Whitely, Naomi Campell and Romeo Beckham star in a Burberry ad however James Cordon, Sir Elton John and Julie Walters, lets face it aren't amongst those we are used to coming across when flicking through our monthly issue of Vogue. I think that the casting of those who aren't professional models is an aspect which has contributed to this ad having such a light hearted feel. Having characters who don't have a professional modelling background, feature within this ad allowed it to seem incredibly natural and relaxed which therefore gives a feeling of genuineness. By being brave enough to not just cast drop dead supermodels within their ad, Burberry have the ability to reach out to certain consumers. For example a woman in her mid 60's may be put off by a product having seen it modelled by a stunning young model, branding themselves as too 'old' or 'fat' for the product. However seeing the same product worn by Julie Walters may alter this point of view.

Many effective ads, particularly those released during the festive period tend to aim to work around the idea of selling a story or lifestyle to consumers rather than the product/s they have to offer. Instead, Burberry have chosen to go down the product based route, ensuring that a wide range of products are presented within this advertisement, however I feel it is still really effective. This could possibly be due to the fact that there is no dialogue or text in the ad, just music (T Rex - Cosmic Dancer) so the watcher can enjoy the clip without products being noticeably pushed and forced at them, this technique is much more subtle and in my opinion effective.

Another aspect of the ad I think that contributes to its essence of joy is its focus on dance and movement. Obviously this is a Billy Elliott tribute so the theme of dance and movement is particularly relevant. The garments which feature within the ad are really complimented by the movement created through the use of the trampoline. The movement is played in slow motion which allows the fringing of the scarves, tassels of the boots, shapes of the coats and even the models' hair to be captured really effectively in a captivating, gripping manner, which I think portrays a magical, Christmassy effect.

Its the classic cashmere scarf in check and hearts, worn by Rosie Huntington Whiteley I have my eye on! I have posted the advertisement below for anyone who is yet to see it.

Love, Isabella x

Photo Credits: Google images, Burberry.com, Youtube