Selfridges unveils first cinema advertising campaign

Luxury retailer Selfridges has unveiled its first made-for-cinema film, shot by director and photographer Norbert Schoerner in support of Selfridges’ new creative retail scheme, Radical Luxury, which seeks to question the meaning of luxury in today’s world.

The 60-second ‘Radical Luxury’ film, is a visual journey featuring stock footage, live action and computer-generated images, to convey the essence of Selfridges’ Radical Luxury and to showcase a ‘reimagined Selfridges’.

The campaign will be shown by cinema distributors such as Everyman, Picturehouse and Pearl and Dean in London, Birmingham and Manchester.

Commenting on the film, Shoerner said: “It’s been an absolute pleasure to collaborate with Selfridges on this very special film, perhaps the most modern piece of work I’ve created. It was an exciting challenge to convert a concept as ubiquitous as the ‘meaning’ of luxury into a unique visual narrative and to play with a broad range of art historical references in the process. Hopefully this film will connect with people and allow them to rediscover Selfridges through an unexpected lense.”

The cinema spot coincides with multi-sensory exhibition Flipside, which will be held at The Old Selfridges Hotel, which adjoins the London store. The exhibition aims to provide a thought-provoking journey into luxury as some of the most forward-thinking brands and creative minds intersect with radical ideas, with altered states of luxury demonstrated by brands such as Google Pixel 2, Louis Vuitton, Loewe, Thom Browne and Gareth Pugh. The Flipside exhibition will be free to visit and will be open from April 26 to May 20.

The campaign will also be supported by a 1,000-plus screens out-of-home campaign, running until May 20, across a number of executions, including six-sheets, large formats, digital six-sheet, and total site domination at Oxford Circus. In addition Shazam technology has been incorporated into the outdoor sites across London, Birmingham and Manchester, where users can Shazam the code on the ad, which will direct them to a Selfridges hub featuring content-rich information about the campaign.