Ad of the Day | Krow launches campaign emphasizing quality and durability of DFS Spring Collection Sofas

Mar. 14, 2017

Today krow launches a new campaign for the UK’s biggest sofa manufacturer, DFS, which focuses on the testing that all DFS sofas undergo to ensure their high quality.

The campaign is the third for DFS featuring Aardman designed characters, which are based on real employees of the sofa company. Breaking on Tuesday 14 March, it runs for three weeks across TV, online video, press, digital and social. The promotion includes a 30-second spot which will be on air for two weeks across all major TV channels including ITV, Sky, C4 and C5.

krow’s brief was to showcase how seriously DFS take its role in delivering the highest standards in quality sofas to their customers. The work centres on the surprising lengths DFS goes to, to ensure the quality of your sofa.

All DFS sofas have to pass 23 different British Standard tests for strength and durability – far beyond the legal requirement. One of the most important tests is the equivalent of a 16-stone person sitting on them 18 times per day over 15 years. And to further prove their confidence in the quality of their sofas, every single one now comes with a 15-year guarantee.

In this Aardman campaign for DFS, we see lead character Dawn - a Quality Administrator from the DFS workshop in Yorkshire - as she visits an independent sofa-testing site and sees a DFS sofa put through its paces in a series of stringent quality tests. Aardman’s unique approach to animation helps bring to life these rigorous tests in an engaging, charming and entertaining way.

We hear from Dawn, in her own words, as she explains why DFS sofas are built to last, outlining the tests they are all put through.

“One’s like a 16-stone fella sitting down on it 18 times a day for 15 years,” she tells us, while ‘The Big Sofa Test’ TV spot serves to communicate how every sofa is quality tested and comes with the reassurance of a 15-year guarantee.

In the voiceover, we hear Dawn herself. Her life-like, handmade fabric character is brought to life via stop motion animation, with the attention to detail shown by the expert team at Aardman mirroring the craftsmanship at DFS and which has made the sofa brand such a British success story. The painstaking animation also serves to reinforce the handcrafted nature of each DFS sofa.

Nick Ashworth, head of marketing at DFS said:

“We’re well known for our broad product range and commitment to offering great value, but what is perhaps less well known is how we operate to the highest standards in product quality and our belief that quality isn’t something you should pay more for. This campaign gave us the opportunity to use our own employee to show how seriously we take our role in delivering to our customers sofas that are made to the highest standards. After all, it’s where they are going to sit for quite a number of years.”

 

Darryl George, creative director at krow, pointed out that the campaign represents a continuation of the agency’s new strategy and repositioning for DFS as being ‘Made to British Standards’.

Darryl George, creative director at krow said:

“Aardman have helped us bring to life another part of the DFS world. This time we go behind the scenes at an independent quality testing facility where ingenious machines push, pull and bash every DFS sofa to make sure they’re made to the highest standards possible.”

 

Media planning and buying was handled by Mediacom.