Ad of the Day | Oxfam Celebrates 75 Year of Second Hand Style with New Fashion Campaign

Oct. 05, 2022

PRETTYBIRD Director Lucrecia Taormina has directed a new fashion campaign for Oxfam. Oxfam launched the stylish new campaign to celebrate its heritage in second-hand clothing and confirm its place at the forefront of this fast-growing market. 

Produced by creative agency Dentsu Creative, the film, directed by Lucrecia Taormina through production company PRETTYBIRD, shows a young woman wondering what to wear for a night out, before she realises that Oxfam is the answer and takes to the catwalk in a succession of different outfits available from the charity. 

The visually arresting advert uses a motion tracking VFX technique to alternate through different styles without the model breaking stride – showcasing Oxfam’s timeless styles through the decades. It ends with the line "75 Years of Second Hand Style". The campaign comes at a time of fast growth for the second-hand clothing market, with consumers looking for items that are more affordable and less damaging to the planet – particularly in contrast to the fast fashion industry. 

With its established heritage in second-hand fashion, built through its shops and online store, Oxfam is both an originator of the market and one of its leading brands. Every look in the film was sourced by stylist Celia Arias from the and all were returned as purchasable stock.

As one of the founding members of the Ad Net Zero initiative, sustainability is a core objective of the Dentsu network. Dentsu Creative therefore took on this campaign performing the creative and account management services pro bono, while working with director Lucrecia Taormina and production company PRETTYBIRD to achieve the stylish look and feel. The film will run across digital and social channels.

This is the first advertising campaign directed by Lucrecia Taormina since she signed with PRETTYBIRD in August. Lucrecia’s star has been in the ascendent as a director to watch since she won the Best Pop Newcomer award at the 2019 UKMVA’s.

Lucrecia Taormina commented:

“When I received the brief, I was instantly drawn to it, as it had a focus on Oxfam’s fashion. I was l inspired and excited by it; having the opportunity to showcase not only the past but the future of Oxfam. So I created a story combining both (past and future) by assembling beautiful clothes from the 50s to 2000s (We had a total of 27 looks) thanks to the amazing stylist Celia Arias, and swapping them using locked on stabilisation effect. The amount and rhythm of the outfit changes was determined by the fast-paced tempo of our techno track. So for every high beat I had to work out how many outfit changes we needed for that specific era so we could plan every detail of every look. I was always certain that in order to shake up a bit the category we needed to have a techno beat at the centre of this idea and a super musical edit, which my editor Ross Hallard did an incredible job at. The aim was to build a narrative that was charged with Gen Z authenticity, desirability and modernity pivoting around the 75 years of Oxfam stores. Portraying second hand fashion as high fashion.  I was really lucky that I had the agency and especially the creative team Will and James’s full trust and support in creating a story that was totally different to what we normally see in the category. And I also had my production company PRETTYBIRD; Benji Landman, Paulette Caletti Enrique Soares Da Silva and everyone at PRETTYBIRD offered incredible support throughout. I think the result ended up being something pretty unique.” 

 

Rachael Huttly, Oxfam Head of Retail Marketing, said:

“Oxfam has been selling second-hand fashion for more than seven decades, offering generations of UK consumers a way to shop sustainably for all that time. It’s so encouraging to see that second-hand is being embraced by increasing numbers of future-focussed shoppers, searching for stylish, affordable clothes that are doubly feelgood as they help to protect the planet while raising money for a better and more equal world without poverty. 

 

Will Wright & James Morgan, Senior Creatives at Dentsu Creative, explained: 

“It’s not often you get to bring the worlds of fashion and environmentalism together, so naturally we jumped at the chance to work with Oxfam. It's been a collaborative effort from the very beginning and the talents of so many have made something that seemed impossible happen. We couldn’t be happier with the outcome.”