Harvey Nichols unveils posters starring designer-clad headless chickens in latest of string of sensational sale ads



Summer sale campaign shows headless chickens dressed in designer clothes



Tagline: 'Try To Stay Calm'

Store are notorious for controversial campaigns



Designer department store Harvey Nichols likes to push the boundaries when it comes to getting noticed.

Previous marketing activities have included a model wetting herself with excitement at the prospect of the shop's seasonal sale, a 'walk of shame' television advert, and beefy bulldogs being touted around in pricey handbags.

But Harvey Nichols' new campaign for the fashionable Summer Sale, is tongue-in-cheek and somewhat hilarious.

Keep calm! Harvey Nichols have unveiled its new campaign for their famous Summer Sale, with a play on the famous phrase, 'run round like a headless chicken'

Playing on the famous phrase, 'run round like a headless chicken', the campaign created by adam&eveDDB, features headless chickens dressed in key items from the Spring/Summer 2013 collections, alongside the strap-line, 'The Harvey Nichols Sale. Try to stay calm'.



Julia Bowe, Group Press and Marketing Director at Harvey Nichols said: 'Harvey Nichols is world-renowned for its fabulous sale, with eager shoppers descending en masse to their nearest store in their efforts to lay their hands on our amazing reductions.

'In humorous reaction to the (often-irrational) excitement sale time engenders, we have developed this campaign to capture the frantic effect that the Harvey Nichols sale can have upon our customers.

Cluck cluck: The tongue-in-cheek campaign, created by adam&eveDDB, features headless chickens dressed in key items from the Spring/Summer 2013 collections

'Using the analogy of a ‘headless chicken’ for the creative concept really captured this in a fun, light hearted way.



'You can never underestimate that feeling of finding the perfect sale purchase and with discounts of up to 50 per cent off - it is enough to excite and overwhelm even the most composed shopper in us all!'



Photographed by Daniel Stier, the campaign is illustrated through three different executions for womenswear, menswear and accessories, with the oh-so-stylish chickens sporting an MSGM lace dress, a Zegna sport jacket and Valentino clutch.

Keep calm: The Harvey Nichols campaign tagline is 'Try To Stay Calm' and captures a chicken in full flight mode suggesting that they have struggled to do just that

Ben Tollett and Emer Stamp, Executive Creative Directors at adam&eveDDB added: 'Trying to come up with another great Harvey Nichols Sale ad is never easy.



'We were running around like headless chickens until we saw this.'

Back in June 2012, the luxury department store Harvey Nichols came under fire for their advertising campaign, released to promote their summer sale.



The glossy poster depicted a woman who has apparently - and there is no delicate way of putting this - wet her pants with excitement.

In March this year, glossy images used to promote the store's new Liverpool beauty hall featured three glamorous models appearing to lean in to kiss themselves in a reflection.

The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) received 17 complaints about the adverts: nine that the images were unsuitable to be seen by children because they appeared to show a lesbian kiss, 10 that they were sexually explicit and two that the phrase 'love thyself' in combination with the pictures was offensive on religious grounds.

But it seems that the store have moved away from the controversy to have some fanciful fun with their advertising campaigns.



THE CONTROVERSIAL HARVEY NICHOLS CAMPAIGNS

Crass? The Harvey Nichols summer sale 2012 mailout was meant as a bit of 'light-hearted fun', say the store - but some sensitive shoppers took offence at the image, taking to Twitter to criticise the flyers The 2012 'Love Thyself' campaign received 17 complaints including nine that the images were unsuitable to be seen by children because they appeared to show a lesbian kiss Sparking controversy: The 'Walk of Shame' advert for Harvey Nichols shown at Christmas 2011 drew criticism for what some said was the glamorisation of one night stands Canine companions: Harvey Nichols' spring campaign, The New Breed, featured three sizeable hounds being toted in super stylish handbags and was a far cry from the more controversial campaigns seen before