U.K. Retailer Goes Medieval to Tout Tech Upgrades

A knight of the realm needs a new laptop

Verily, we need a clean-up in Aisle 7: a knight in not-so-shining armor just rode his horse to the store.

U.K. tech chain Currys gets up to Medieval mischief in a trio of silly spots from AMV BBDO and Spark Foundry.

The joke is that folks wait too long for upgrades. They should saddle up and get with the times.

She’ll need a bigger bucket.

“Most people have a laptop for somewhere between five and six years before they think of upgrading,” say AMV BBDO creative directors Jez Tribe and Dave Westland. “In that time, the tech has moved on massively. So, we’re simply playing with the exaggerated feeling that those old laptops seem like they’re from a bygone era.”

“Trying to bring historic characters into a modern day Currys store presented some fun challenges,” the creatives recall. “The suits of armor and Viking garb are obvious—but a foot-and-a-half-high wig also becomes a strain on an 8-hour shoot day.”

Nice Shirt’s Greg Bell breaks out the costumes, powdered wigs and cheeky banter to herald the back-to-school season. He directs with funny flair, striving, no doubt, for a retail renaissance.

The campaign rolls out this month across TV, online video and cinemas, part of the broader “Beyond Techspectations” platform.