The close bond between the typical HORNBACH project customer and his hands has always been a recurring element of HORNBACH DIY store communication. But what happens when our own hands have different wishes than their owner, who prefers to lose himself in the colorful world of first and second screens? When our hands are made for so much more.
This is exactly the scenario that the new campaign by the long-term agency HeimatTBWA\ takes to the extreme in the truest sense of the word. In the ad, the hands want to “get back to work” while the protagonist is still lounging on the sofa. What follows is an amusing and painful, traditionally insane lesson that the lost DIY soul is taught by its own hands. And we all know the power of our own hands. “Hands and will are probably the most valuable and magical creative tools at our disposal. But they are also something that DIYers themselves have to bring to the project,” says Thomas Schnaitmann, Head of International Brand at HORNBACH, “which even the HORNBACH range does not have for once.”
The purification process extends from the sofa to the half-finished loft conversion, where the actor has visibly come to his senses and become one with his hands. Obey your hands is the simple and clear HORNBACH message for late summer/autumn. “This completes 2024 as the declared HORNBACH humor year, which began with the much-discussed Cocoon spot,” says Guido Heffels, who has been creatively responsible for HORNBACH communications for 25 years now.
As always, the ad has many other levels of interpretation in addition to the obvious message. Analogue versus digital. Action versus consumption. Active versus passive. The ad was produced by Tony Petersen Film and their EP Michael Duttenhöfer. Directed by Steve Rogers (Revolver, Sydney). Camera: Daniel Landin, set design: Steven Jones-Evans. Katalyst in Berlin was responsible for the visual effects. The tango that accompanies the path of purification comes from Machine in New York.
As always, the staging of the idea is extremely diverse and has plenty of surprises in store. In addition to the moving image effect, the campaign includes various other implementations in social media, digital, (D)OHH, radio, ambient and at the POS.
