Jan 27

Big Lots Selects OKRP as AOR

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Big Lots1

Less than three weeks after we first heard that Big Lots was parting ways with Barkley, which handled creative duties for the 1,400-strong retail chain for barely a year, the Columbus, OH-based brand has found a new agency partner in Chicago shop, O’Keefe, Reinhard & Paul. No word on who else participated in the review, but Big Lots chief customer officer Andrew Stein, who most recently led the development of “Ship My Pants” among other things while serving as CMO at Kmart, says, “Big Lots is engaging with our customer in new ways, and we were looking for an agency that understood our challenges and needs in a fast-changing marketplace,” noted Stein.  “We presented OKRP with a project, and they came back to us in a very short time with terrific ideas that aligned with our vision while proving their executional excellence and speed to market. They are a great partner for Big Lots.”

OKRP, if you recall, was launched by Draftfcb alums Tom O’Keefe and Nick Paul along with former Amazon exec Matt Reinhard nearly a year ago. Expect first work, which will initially be digital, from the agency for Big Lots to break in early February.

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May 23

DFCB, Kmart Continue to Make Puns, Offer ‘Big Gas Savings’

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When DraftFCB and Kmart released their spot “Ship My Pants” last month, it was lauded far and wide as shot of adrenaline for both the retail brand and the Chicago office of the agency. Sure, it was silly, considering the spot’s entire charm rested on the fact that “ship” can sound like “shit,” but it was still a funny and delightfully unexpected execution for brand not known for taking risks.

After “Ship My Pants” racked up a whopping 17 million+  YouTube views, it would be foolish to switch up a formula that’s proven itself on such a grand scale. So, we now have “Big Gas Savings,” a new spot which tries to recreate the lightning-in-a-bottle success of its predecessor. Now first off,  it lacks the unexpectedness of “Ship My Pants,” not to mention that “gas” and “ass” is a bit further of a reach than “ship” and “shit.” And, of course, “shit” is a far funnier word than “ass.” Also, advertising discounts on gas might not be the best way to get people into your store. In other words, no, this doesn’t live up to “Ship My Pants,” but really could it?

Kmart was left with two options here when it became clear that they had to stick to an execution they knew would bring in viewers. The first, which they went with, was to use a different swear word. The second, which may have worked better, was to continue going with “shit” and come up with new jokes. This isn’t to say that “Big Gas Savings,” isn’t better than 90 percent of ads out there. In fact, it’s still a very enjoyable watch. It’s impossible to hit it out of the park with every swing, and a single sure isn’t anything to be ashamed of. Credits after the jump.

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