Fretex Surprise Catwalk
Issue 18 | March 2011
Agency
Kitchen Reklamebyra AS
Creative Team
Art Director: Eirik Stensrud; Copywriter: Thomas Askim
Production Team
Fieldwork: Hakon Stensholt, Ingvild Selliaas
Other Credits
Hanne Kopstad, Mette Loland, Rune Roalsvig Espen Haugen, Trine Gjermundbo
Date
August 2010
Background
Fretex is a chain of second-hand clothes stores in Norway run by the Salvation Army.
In Oslo Fashion Week, they aw a perfect opportunity to promote themselves.
Idea
A real-size catwalk was installed outside the exit of one of Oslo’s main subway stations and the unsuspecting passengers were used as models.
As they emerged from the station, they were wearing the clothes today which will turn up at Fretex tomorrow.
As they made their way down the catwalk, they were cheered on by a professional runway audience while a DJ played catchy catwalk music.
At the end they were given a ‘thankyou’ card, which explained the purpose of the event.
Results
The event created big buzz in fashion blogs, local media were present and video clips from the event was shared in different social media.
Our Thoughts
Most of the work in Directory is sent to us by agencies but every now and then we see something we go after ourselves and this is one of those. It won an award at EPICA in January and is sure to win a whole bunch more in 2011.
This is one of those ‘contagious’ ideas Richard Pinder talks about on page x, though from sister agency Leo Burnett rather than Publicis.
So, what is a ‘contagious’ idea? Judging from this, one that you can ‘get’ in an instant, which makes you smile, which is relevant and which is constructed around sharing values rather than selling you products.