BoohooMan x Patrice Evra Launch

We Robbed boohooMAN

Some campaigns are built to be seen. This one was built to be stolen.

For the latest boohooMAN collaboration launch with Patrice Evra, we helped create an outdoor campaign that did more than put creative in front of people. It gave the launch a story people could follow, film, share and talk about.

The idea was simple. Fit the new shirt to one of our Manchester flyposting sites, make it look too good to ignore, then steal it.

Well, sort of. We staged that part with the help of our very own Harry Garrity, dressed in an all black tracksuit and armed with a crowbar we picked up in Wickes. 

The Brief

boohooMAN wanted to build attention around its latest collaboration launch and create a campaign that worked across the street and social media simultaneously.

The shirt had to feel desirable before people had even clicked through to buy it. That meant the campaign needed a bit of theatre, a bit of mischief and enough visual impact to cut through in Manchester.

The Approach

The wider boohooMAN campaign rolled out across London, Birmingham and Manchester, with flyposting helping give the launch a street level presence in each city.

In Manchester, we took that one step further.

Rather than letting the flyposting do all the work, we used one of the sites to create a moment around the shirt itself. The Patrice Evra shirt was fitted into the campaign creative and displayed inside a case, making it look more like something on show than something on sale.

Then we “stole” it.

The whole thing was planned as a tongue in cheek content moment. On the day, we filmed Harry removing the shirt and created CCTV style footage for boohooMAN to run across their social channels. The content was posted under the pretence that someone had actually stolen the shirt, giving the launch a playful hook that the audience could react to and share.

It gave the campaign a small bit of theatre. People saw the shirt on the wall, then saw the footage of it being taken, then watched the brand play along online.

What We Delivered

We supported the wider boohooMAN rollout with flyposting across Manchester, alongside activity in London and Birmingham.

The Manchester activation included:

·    Flyposting across Manchester city centre

·    An encased Patrice Evra shirt built into the flyposting creative

·    A staged “theft” featuring Harry removing the shirt

·    CCTV style content filmed and created on the day

·    Social content for boohooMAN to run across its own channels

·    MCR Screen activity giving the campaign a large format Manchester presence

·    Campaign management, media coordination and delivery reporting

The MCR Screen activity delivered 13,155 plays against 9,600 booked, creating a 37% overshow.

Results and Impact

The campaign gave boohooMAN more than a standard shirt launch.

The wider flyposting rollout helped build visibility across London, Birmingham and Manchester, while the Manchester activation gave the campaign its story.

The encased shirt created the visual hook. The staged theft gave boohooMAN a reason to post. The CCTV style footage made the content feel native to social, while the “has anyone seen our shirt?” tone gave the audience something easy to engage with.

It worked because it did not ask people to care about an ad. It gave them a small, funny situation to react to.

For a campaign about a shirt, making the shirt look worth stealing was the whole point.

And for the record, Harry gave it back.