British retailer de-brands products to provide "quiet" to consumers

Selfridges, a British department store chain, wants to give customers a break from the overwhelming "noise" of the modern world.

According to their "No Noise" campaign site:

As we become increasingly bombarded with information and stimulation, the world is becoming a noisier place. In an initiative that goes beyond retail, we invite you to celebrate the power of quiet, see the beauty in function and find calm among the crowds.

This idea of an oasis of calm in the middle of retail madness is actually as old as the store itself. When Selfridges opened in 1909, Harry Gordon Selfridge created a Silence Room where busy shoppers could "retire from the whirl of bargains and the build up of energy". The store will soon have a new Silence Room, designed by Alex Cochrane:

But the campaign gimmick of most interest to me is "The Quiet Shop," in which iconic products by Heinz, Beats by Dre, Levi's, Marmite and others have provided exclusive "de-branded" products to promote the initiative.

I love it. And it's really impressive that these classic brands — run by marketers who you would expect to be extremely protective of their established standards and equity — would be willing to participate in a project that basically admits our world is over-branded.

Ahhhhhh...

You can buy the limited-edition products online.

Tip via The Drum

Marmite invites you to hate haute cuisine

Marmite, which I have always assumed tastes like whatever ear wax tastes like, takes some cheap shots at haute cuisine in these spots from DDB UK:



Using a frog and a snail is also a clever way to appeal to the British working man by taking a piss on the rival French — long known for eating such critters.

Via AdFreak