Wren Kitchens takes a dig at its neighbour, Bedworld leaves viewers unimpressed by talking “ship”and Harrods goes green with a new competition.

Store wars

Wren Kitchens pokes fun at its rival Betta Living with this cheeky promotional signage.

Wren Kitchens pokes fun at its rival Betta Living with this cheeky sign

When it comes to marketing, it doesn’t get much more direct than this.

Wren Kitchens in Nottingham couldn’t resist taking a blatant shot at its next door neighbour and rival, Betta Living, with its latest advertising banner.

The retailer boldly claims: “We’ll beat any quote,” above the cheeky line “including next door”. Just to clear up any misunderstanding, the banner even features an arrow pointing directly at the Betta Living fascia. Let the store war begin.

 

Talking ship

Bedworld

Bedworld’s ad can only be shown after the watershed

Fulfilment in the furniture sector is becoming an increasingly competitive field and naturally retailers are keen to advertise their delivery options.

In order to cut through an increasingly crowded market place, Bedworld has resorted to good old-fashioned toilet humour.

The public was less than impressed though when the bed specialist apparently inserted the world “ship” in place of another four letter ‘s’ word. Lines in the ad included ‘We’ve just shipped this bed…and it felt great’ and ‘I ship thousands of beds and mattresses all over the UK’.

Alongside being a particularly crude ad, the idea is also not an original one. It appears Bedworld found inspiration from Kmart’s ‘ship my pants’ viral ad. They say imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.

 

Harrods goes green

Harrods has launched a new competition using a wooden version of its famous green doormen.

Harrods has launched a competition using a wooden version of its famous green doormen

Anyone who is anyone in the industry will know about Harrods’ legendary green doormen, who have stood proudly at the Knightsbridge store for 100 years. But now the upmarket department store has produced a series of smaller wooden equivalents to help promote this year’s Vogue Festival.

Harrods is offering three lucky winners a weekend break in London and shopping sprees worth between £1,000 and £3,000 at the famous store, as part of the #MyGreenMan competition.

All consumers have to do is take a picture of a downloadable paper cut-out version of the doorman “in an imaginative location” and submit it via Instagram.

Even the doormen are likely to be green with envy at the winners of that prize.