Philips has launched its ‘Better Than New’ campaign to create awareness and traction for Philips’ refurbished products. The creative thinking behind the campaign focuses on the tension between ‘new equals better’ and ‘better than new’. Responding to the needs of an increasing number of consumers and building on the company’s commitment to sustainability and driving a more circular economy, Philips’ goal is to make products that can be refurbished and reused.
The Tension Behind ‘New Equals Better’ and ‘Better Than New’
The Philips Refurb Editions ‘Better Than New’ campaign challenges the notion that new is always better, emphasizing the benefits of refurbished products. By reusing perfectly good products, consumers can use less and reuse more, contributing to a more sustainable and circular economy.
“At Philips, we believe that innovation should be about making quality products that you can enjoy for a long time,” said Josefien Olij, Global Senior Director, Marketing Communications at Philips. “We are proud to launch our latest innovation – Refurb Edition products that are not just as good as new, but better than new. The ‘Better Than New’ campaign is about creating greater awareness of the benefits of re-using perfectly good products, so consumers can use less and re-use more in a fun, easy, accessible way.”
Refreshing Philips’ Tradition of Iconic Print Ads
To bring the idea to life, Philips collaborated with creative agency LePub and co-founders of the Italian image-only magazine TOILETPAPER. LePub searched the archives of Philips advertising and, in collaboration with TOILETPAPER’s art director Maurizio Cattelan and photographer Pierpaolo Ferrari, refreshed Philips’ tradition of iconic print ads. The result is a campaign that is true to Philips’ past but refreshed to illustrate Philips’ portfolio of refurbished products, with the disruptive and unconventional look of one of TOILETPAPER’s visual signatures – the retro-future.
The campaign is currently live in Germany across outdoor, print, and social. In Hamburg, a pop-up store used the retro-future visual identity of the campaign to promote the proposition that refurb is the future, with products that people were able to buy virtually but experience live.
Final Take
Philips’ ‘Better Than New’ campaign challenges the notion that new is always better by emphasizing the benefits of refurbished products. By collaborating with creative agency LePub and TOILETPAPER, Philips refreshed its tradition of iconic print ads to illustrate its portfolio of refurbished products. The campaign aims to create greater awareness of the benefits of reusing perfectly good products to contribute to a more sustainable and circular economy, and provides a fun, easy, and accessible way for consumers to use less and re-use more.
