Boots’ summer campaign shows what new agency constructs fail to deliver – creativity

A couple of years ago Walgreens Boots’ deal with WPP was hailed as “revolutionary” by all and sundry, encompassing those terribly modern things data, diversity and in-housing. And outcome-based fees, which probably lay at the heart of it.

Since then a gaggle of WPP agencies have worked on the business, first Ogilvy and now VMLY&R. Here’s the latest from the latter.

Starts off OK and it’s a nice tune but then…pure, unadulterated vanilla.

Each to their own I suppose but this seems to be trying to recapture (partly at least) the glory days of Mother and ‘Here come the girls.’

For No 7 cosmetics admittedly but all Mother’s work was outstanding, especially its hard-nosed Christmas efforts.

This one from VMLY&R? Not remotely in the same league.

MAA creative scale: 3.