How Brexit's Black Friday Store Opened its Doors

Last week we reported how anti-Brexit campaign group, People's Vote, took advantage of the Black Friday phenomenon to bring their own take on the now-annual shopping extravaganza, Black Friday, by opening their own shop... but with a twist.

The Costupper Mini-market in Peckham High Street used recognisable brands and products to highlight People's Vote's view that the recently announced Brexit deal is nothing short of disastrous. With specially designed packaging utilising a series of effective puns and a real-world space inviting shoppers through its doors, the experiential pop-up store succeeded in creating Brexit-shaped waves.

Below, former adam&eveDDB creative, and creative consultant on the People's Vote project, Daniel Fisher discusses the thinking behind the idea and the difficulties in bringing it to fruition.

Above: Daniel Fisher, creative consultant on the People's Vote Costupper shop.

"The idea is actually part of a wider 'not buying it' campaign, which centres around a specially built online tool that allows you to write a personalised letter to your MP in less than 60 seconds."

Can you tell us how you got involved with the Black Friday Brexit store?

I've been working with People's Vote since September in a consultancy role, advising them on creative, strategic and comms matters and helping them recruit in-house capabilities when needed.  

When the Prime Minister revealed the deal on 14th November, the organisation wanted to react in a way that would cut through all the other noise about Brexit, so we looked at what was going on in the world and realised there had to be something we could do around Black Friday.

Where did the idea to open the store originate?

Black Friday is a time of year when everyone, from high street retailers to utilities providers, are shouting about their special offers, so given the poor nature of the deal we got from the EU, it felt like a natural thing to subvert.

Obviously, we (myself and the in-house creatives, Lloyd Daniel and Mark Nicholson) knew we wouldn't be able to compete with the media budgets of the nation's major retailers, so we looked at how we could make the idea work harder. We wanted it to be as impactful as possible so we landed on the idea of opening an actual Black Friday Brexit shop...

Why Peckham?

The easiest thing for all involved would have been to do this somewhere in Central London, but we felt it was important to step outside of the bubble. Peckham felt a bit more real and connected.

"Black Friday is a time of year when everyone, from high street retailers to utilities providers, are shouting about their special offers, so given the poor nature of the deal we got from the EU, it felt like a natural thing to subvert." 

How long did it take to come up with the product names?

Less than a day. We had to turn the whole thing around in just over 72 hours. We got the go ahead for the idea on Monday evening. At that point it was just a page on a deck. 

What were the biggest challenges in getting the project off the ground?

Too many to list here. The first thing we had to do was find a production designer, so we called Olly Williams (who I’ve worked with in the past) for advice. By some strange, serendipitous twist of fate, he'd just had a big job cancelled, so he came on board right away.

Then we had to find a space and convert it into a shop. We didn't get the keys to 93 Peckham High Street until Thursday morning. At that point it was still an art gallery.

What do you hope the Brexit store achieved?

The main aim of the Costupper idea was to highlight the People's Vote's point of view on the deal in a way that would make it feel real, tangible and talk-able. It got on all the major news programmes on Friday evening, as well as well as in lots of the newspapers and news websites over the weekend, so I think it achieved that.

The idea is actually part of a wider 'not buying it' campaign, which centres around a specially built online tool that allows you to write a personalised letter to your MP in less than 60 seconds. If you feel strongly about not leaving the EU, check it out and give it a try. It takes, literally, seconds... notbuyingit.uk