Contain Yourself

The term "LOL" gets bandied about on this 'ere internet rather a lot but it is rare you will find me genuinely laughing out loud at my computer screen. Tonight I actually did a belly laugh after sitting at my computer and finding an email informing me of the Harvey Nichols sale, beginning Wednesday:  following on from their controversial Christmas Walk of Shame video - which was discussed by everyone from the Mirror to the New Statesman - Harvey Nicks delight and disgust with their new sale imagery, loosely based on Pretty Woman's infamous line "it was so good, I almost peed my pants!"

Well, actually, the Harvey Nichols sale is good enough to ruin a perfectly good pair of Ackermann-esque trousers. Or so they would lead us to believe. Nothing a dry clean won't fix, eh? My LOL was almost certainly from sheer shock of seeing a once-stuffy, high-end retailer advertising their sale in a deviant fashion. They are clearly trying to distance themselves from the older market and appeal to those who are happy to drop thousands in one visit on cool, up and coming brands they stock like Carven and The Row.

However you feel about Harvey Nicks's sale campaign, there's no denying it gets people talking, blogging, and ultimately visiting the retailer. As I write I am watching a conversation unfold on Twitter about whether the adverts are tasteful, or whether Harvey Nicks have even taken the theme far enough. Should the models look more pleased with themselves? Or a bit more insolent? Is this just too far? People's opinions will saturate social media over the days preceding the sale, helping to get the hashtag #ContainYourself trending.

Sadly I'll be working when the doors open, so I'll miss the inevitable scuffles over the last Alexander McQueen bag at 70% off. When the dust settles I will pop my head in to see if any scraps have been left over - only then we will see who has really had the last laugh.