UNITED KINGDOM – As global anticipation swells around the Oasis reunion tour, brands are racing to align themselves with the cultural moment, paying homage to the legendary band and their enduring influence across generations. Among them, Specsavers has rolled out two cleverly conceived activations that blend its signature humour with a meaningful message about sensory health, capturing the attention of nostalgic Britpop devotees and younger indie fans alike.
The brand’s latest campaigns: one focused on hearing, the other on vision, bring its longstanding commitment to accessible healthcare into the spotlight, leveraging the momentum of Oasis’s return to the stage.
On July 18, Specsavers brought its national audiology campaign, The Whole Conversation, to the streets of Manchester, coinciding with the Oasis gigs at Heaton Park. In collaboration with local content creator Jack Wood, the brand launched a playful “hear-tch-hiking” stunt. The activation highlighted key locations throughout Manchester where fans, armed with sharp enough hearing – could catch echoes of the concert without a ticket. The initiative cleverly amplified the importance of hearing health while tapping into the spirit of Oasis’s hometown pride.
The following weekend, the campaign shifted focus from sound to sight, debuting a bold out of home (OOH) installation just outside Wembley Stadium. Running live during key dates of the tour (July 26 and 30, and August 2 and 3), the OOH execution featured a cheeky nod to Britpop rivalries, with the headline “The original Blur rival.”
The tongue-in-cheek line references recent comments by Blur frontman Damon Albarn, who conceded that Oasis had indeed won the Britpop battle of the ’90s. Specsavers leans into this cultural moment with a reminder that while bands were clashing over guitar riffs and fringe cuts, the brand was already addressing blurred vision – long before the Britpop wars ever began.
This witty installation has resonated well beyond its physical placement. Since going live at Wembley Park tube station, the campaign has even earned a share on Oasis’s official Instagram account, cementing its place as a standout moment in the flurry of brand activations around the tour.
