Cost Plus World Market's Campaign Takes the 'Bummer' out of Summer

Cost Plus World Market has teamed up with ad agency barrettSF to encourage people to plus it up this summer. A series of videos in their new “Plus it Up” campaign show how individual Cost Plus products, from a beautiful dining table to simple string lights, instantly turn “bummer” scenarios into happy “summer” moments.

Mood-killing flood lights. Ugly folding tables. Camp chairs repurposed as backyard seating. As much as we all look forward to summer, our outdoor spaces don’t always get a lot of love.

“The idea of transforming a space can feel a bit daunting,” said Colleen Cavanaugh, senior creative director at Cost Plus. “But really, it can be as easy as a small refresh. We wanted to show people that there’s no shortage of ways, big or small, to plus up their outdoor space.”

Designed to live on social, the work spans from 15-second videos to 30-second spots and even 6-second bite-sized content. The national campaign debuted online a variety of platforms including Hulu, NBC View on Demand and YouTube. The campaign was directed by Aaron Beckum with Strike Anywhere, who treated the spots as very simple stories.

“These are snapshots of relatable moments,” said barrettSF art director and outdoor grilling enthusiast, Jessica Sugerman. “We loved Aaron’s background as a photographer and how he wanted to keep each shot super simple, almost like a gif. That approach really helped us communicate that a small change makes a big difference in these real, bummer scenarios.”