Philips and creative agency LePub collaborate with Italian image-only lifestyle magazine founders to reframe innovation with the launch of Philips Refurb Editions
- Philips explores tension between ‘new equals better’ and ‘better than new’ with latest campaign on refurbished products
- Collaboration between Philips, creative agency LePub and Italian image-only magazine
TOILETPAPER creates retro-futuristic imagery for ‘Better Than New’ campaign, inspired by Philips’ history of iconic advertising - Launching at a Pop-Up store in Hamburg, Germany, the campaign engages consumers with personalized shareable content and highlights the sustainability benefits and ethos of refurbished products
Amsterdam, June 29, 2023 – Royal Philips, a global leader in health technology, today announced the launch of 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 Philips Refurb Editions ‘Better Than New’ campaign, which has been co-created with creative agency LePub (Amsterdam, the Netherlands) and co-founders of the Italian image-only magazine TOILETPAPER (artist Maurizio Cattelan and photographer Pierpaolo Ferrari), uses the creativity engendered by a seeming conflict of ideas – new equals better versus better than new – to turn the stereotypical idea of innovation on its head.
Philips has always been at the forefront of innovation, the company’s purpose being to improve people’s health and wellbeing through meaningful innovation. As part of Philips’ response to today’s consumers’ needs and through its commitment to sustainability and driving a more circular economy, it is the goal to make products that can be refurbished and reused. The environmental impact of using refurbished products is less than buying a new product because the need for raw materials and new parts is reduced. Today’s consumers are more informed and aware of the need for sustainability than ever before
and keen on finding innovative ways to live more sustainable lifestyles. And as consumer behavior shifts and changes, how people buy products and services and how brands sell them continues to evolve. Consumer surveys suggest that sustainability is playing an increasing role in how people buy – for example, 38% of consumers say they are willing to pay more for a durable product and 40% buy second-hand products [1]. Philips believes that as well as a brand-new product there should be a brand new choice: the option of new or refurbished. Philips Refurb Editions – products that are given a second life with guaranteed Philips quality and the same two-year guarantee as a new product – offer consumers that exciting and simple alternative. It also means less waste. With more than 39,000 refurbished products finding a new home, Philips already avoided 139 tons of e-waste in 2022 [2].
“At Philips, we believe that innovation should be about making quality products that you can enjoy for a long time,” said Josefien Olij, Global Sr. 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.”
The ‘Better Than New’ campaign revolves around the need to use less and reuse more. The campaign uses the principles of innovation that Philips has consistently used in the past, reframing them to illustrate the new paradigm of reuse. The new message it conveys is that improving people’s lives does not have to rely on new products, it can also be achieved with products that are not new.
“Philips has a great heritage in innovation,” said Milos Obradovic – Chief Creative Officer’ LePub. “To launch this new initiative and show how a technology company can lead us into the future in a new way, we revisited the company’s rich past with a fresh take on what innovation can mean for the future.”
To bring the idea to life, LePub searched the archives of Philips advertising and, in collaboration with creative art collective TOILETPAPER, refreshed Philips’ tradition of iconic print ads. TOILETPAPER’s art director Maurizio Cattelan and photographer Pierpaolo Ferrari revisited Philips’ vintage posters illustrating past innovations, injecting great wit and a powerful visual aesthetic. The result is a campaign 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.
“Creativity never gets old’’, said Maurizio Cattelan – Photographer Toiletpaper magazine. “The new campaign for Philips has a retro-future perspective, where Philips vintage posters and past innovations are becoming new’’ added Pierpaolo Ferrari – Photographer Toiletpaper magazine.
The ‘Better Than New’ campaign is currently being rolled out in Germany and was launched in outdoor, print, and social media on June 15, 2023. In the heart of Hamburg, Germany, 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. It offered a compelling experience of how reusing products may be a better future for all of us.
Watch the videos here:
Shaver: https://youtu.be/ehH9fnP8Tr8
Haircare: https://youtu.be/XGOJTGfSR3A
Lumea: https://youtu.be/5cW43cX-l-Q
About LePub
Le Pub was created by combining the renowned Publicis Italy (“#1 Creative Agency in World” – Adweek 2021, #1 Creative Agency in World” – WARC 2022, “#2 Creative Agency in the World” at Cannes 2021, “Most Effective Ad in the world” – Kantar 2021, “one of the best and bravest agency on the planet” for the Contagious Pioneers ranking 2022)& best-in-class data, media, and technology expertise from across Publicis Groupe.
At LePub we believe that brands can no longer merely communicate with consumers and must now earn their place in people’s daily lives. Stated differently – it’s about helping brands deliver real value (rather than messages). That’s why Le Pub is obsessed with creating innovative experiences that matter enough to “live in culture”. Fuelled by rich global data and powered by world-class creativity – Le Pub is where brands meet culture. www.le.pub
About Royal Philips
Royal Philips (NYSE: PHG, AEX: PHIA) is a leading health technology company focused on improving people’s health and wellbeing through meaningful innovation. Philips’ patient- and people-centric innovation leverages advanced technology and deep clinical and consumer insights to deliver personal health solutions for consumers and professional health solutions for healthcare providers and their patients in the hospital and the home. Headquartered in the Netherlands, the company is a leader in diagnostic imaging, ultrasound, image-guided therapy, monitoring and enterprise informatics, as well as in personal health. Philips generated 2022 sales of EUR 17.8 billion and employs approximately 77,000 employees with sales and services in more than 100 countries. News about Philips can be found at www.philips.com/newscenter.
