Campaign group People’s Vote has opened a Brexit-themed newsagent for Black Friday to highlight inflation caused by uncertainty over the UK’s negotiations with the European Union.
The shop, called Costupper, is at 93 Peckham High Street, London, and will be open for this weekend only. It sells "the worst deals in Europe", with products including Price-Up Krispies, Tomato Botchup and Conman’s Mustard. Shoppers can also buy Brexit Christmas crackers, which hold a nasty surprise in each, and family boxes of Commiserations chocolates.
The "inconvenience" store has a cash machine, which tells users how rapidly their bank balance is diminishing, as well as a news section with publications titled The Hard Times and Fell the Heat.
The concept was developed by the People’s Vote’s in-house creative department, led by marketing director Sarah Baumann, as well as production designer Olly Williams and creative advisor Daniel Fisher. Baumann is a former deputy chief executive of Leo Burnett, while Fisher was previously executive creative director at Martin London and deputy executive creative director at Adam & Eve/DDB.
Baumann said: "In recent years, Black Friday has become part of the country's run-up-to-Christmas ritual, so it seemed ripe for disruption. The timing of the deal announcement was a gift we couldn't ignore."
A study by the London School of Economics found that the Brexit vote is costing the average household £7.74 per week – or the equivalent of £404 per year – through higher prices. Higher inflation since the referendum has also reduced the growth of real wages, with a £448 cut in annual pay for the average worker – or about one week’s wages.
Fisher added: "There's a lot of noise about Brexit at the moment and we wanted to find a way to cut through it all. The shop goes against the grain of what the rest of the world is shouting about this weekend, so hopefully it will do that in spades. It will make people smile, but behind it all is a serious message."
This article first appeared on PRWeek sister title Campaign
