● Case Study
ILAC
WHERE THE PEOPLE MAKE THE PLACE
THE BACKGROUND
The ILAC is an iconic shopping location in the heart of Dublin City. In 2021, it celebrated its 40 years in the city, and remains a staple go-to for many Dubliners. Having come through four decades in a perpetually shapeshifting city, it has witnessed incredible change, housed countless businesses, and welcomed hundreds of millions of visits since its opening.
THE CHALLENGE
For generations the ILAC was synonymous with the soul and character of Ireland's capital city. It had held a special place in the heart of many Dubliners but over time the charm of the destination had begun to fade as many of the old tenants were long gone, few of the original buildings remained and the surrounding area gave way to new developments.
THE STRATEGY
We tapped into nostalgic memories, fusing the past, present and future in order to re-establish the once iconic centre.
A place is nothing without people. If the walls could talk in the ILAC, it would be a treasure trove of stories and characters. Every Dubliner has a story about the ILAC.
A Place For Everyone
When it opened in Dublin in the 1980’s, it became much more than a shopping centre. It was a place for meeting people, eating out, socialising, and learning. Thanks to its central location, it invites Dubliners from every corner of the city. We would need to capture the ILAC through the people who bring the centre to life.
The ILAC is, was, and will always be a place for everyone.
This campaign needed a little more character, edge and charm than the norm. When we were looking at who the ILAC should celebrate. Of course - we wanted to celebrate everyone, but not for the predictable reasons.
We wanted to portrait weirder, funnier, more colourful personality traits, whilst creating a timeless feel to the visuals and feeding off nostalgia via the use of archival footage from the centre.
THE EXECUTION
Visually, we took a multi-vignette approach and took the piece to 20 different locations, mixed between the centre itself and various locations around Dublin. We really wanted to give a sense of place for all generations within the 40 year existence of the centre, so from the off we knew we'd use archival footage and photographs to display the ‘Then Vs Now’.
With the ‘modern’ visuals, we used a blend of contemporary and retro costumes and props to make each scene feel like a different time through the 40 years. This was helped by implementing a 4:3 aspect ratio and a lovely filmic grade.
It was a lot of fun to create and shoot this piece with a multitude of characters, particularly after a long stretch of COVID restrictions. The timing of the piece and the tone hit the perfect note, with everyone clearly in need of some lightheartedness.
The Results
The campaign film was launched across ILAC’s social channels including Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Youtube and VOD. The digital team in Bold steered the launch across Facebook & Instagram with a social campaign with limited budget but big ambitions. Leading with the 60 second piece, we took a gamble to get as many people to watch the full video as we could.
The campaign was a smash hit. We saw huge engagement, with Dubliner’s commenting and sharing their love for the ad and the iconic ILAC centre. One Dubliner actually rang the Bold office to tell us how much they loved the ad.
The campaign was picked up by cultural institutions like Lovin Dublin, DiscoverDublin, DublinTown, Totally Dublin, and internationally with a nod from Little Black Book.