Nip and Tuck

Background

To help maintain its position as their best-selling model, Peugeot gave the 207 something of a facelift.

The front and the rear of the car have been restyled and the vehicle is available in a range of new colours.

The interior has been remodeled to look smarter as well. In addition, there have been enhancements such as the integrated Bluetooth hands-free link to the driver’s mobile phone and a range of safety features to make the 207 one of the safest cars in its class.

Idea

Since the car has been ‘nipped, tucked, shaped and lifted’ inside and out to help it retain its stylish edge in a competitive sector, the idea was to dramatise that playfully by wrapping the mailer in surgical crepe bandages.

The language of the brochure reinforced the allusion to cosmetic surgery with copy mentioning that ‘we’ve had a little work done’, ‘we’ve even added implants’ and ‘ready for the close-up?’

The letter invited recipients to book a test drive.

Results

The pack has only just been mailed out but anecdotal response has been positive with recipients enjoying both the humour and the sense of discovery as they unwind the bandages.

Our Thoughts

In our editorial meeting, when this pack came up for review it was rejected immediately. ‘Ghoulish’, was one comment. But the panel kept referring back to it.

Looking at another piece, someone said: ‘They should have bandaged this.’ Bandages became a running theme.

The point being, the pack has memorability in spades.

I am always going on about the fact that direct mail was the first genuinely interactive advertising medium and here, in unwinding the bandages, the predominately female target audience will be actively engaged in a joke which, I suspect, will be more relevant to them than to a middle-aged male editor.