• Brand - BooHoo
• Spot - We Are Free Spirits
• Music Title - Hotter Than Hell
• Artist - Dua Lipa
• Composer - Midgely, Baxter, O’Connell, Lipa
• Publisher - Universal, Sony/ATV, Perfect Songs, Copyright Control
• Music Supervisor - The Sync Agency
• Master Rights - Warner Music
• Ad Agency - Hatch
• Creatives - Antoine Piazza, Mark White, Sally Davies
• Film Company - Hatch
• Film Director - Antoine Piazza
• Ppst Production - Hatch
• Air Date - 25/04/16

Trendsetting teen fashion brand BooHoo’s keen eye for street style is rivalled only by its ear for what’s bubbling under the charts.

“We live and breathe music,” says marketing director Richard Clark. “We’re always listening for new sounds we think will resonate with our customers.

“The beauty of our creative and marketing approach is that we can often help give unproven artists a leg-up and help turn them in to chart acts too,” he adds.

It is no empty claim. Over the last 18 months, according to leading online sync sector service Adbreakanthems, BooHoo has aired nine new spots featuring tracks by Gorgon City, Charli XCX, Rae Morris, Tove Lo and Mura Masa as well as Years & Years’ Number One King.

Clark believes the secret of the brand’s sync success lies in knowing exactly what it is looking for and finding music company partners who understand its aims and aspirations.

“We pride ourselves on our relationships with people in the industry and we believe it is important to maintain these in order to be regarded as a credible music partner,” he continues.

“As soon as we have the initial concept or idea, we think about both the type of track and artist that could work for us. We go though a lengthy ‘A&R’ process of our own before reaching out directly to labels, management, DJs, presenters and other influencers. Then we send out a brief to our contacts to see what releases they have for the period the ad is on air."

BooHoo’s latest We Are Free Spirits spot was shot by ad agency Hatch director Antoine Piazza, who has been responsible for everything the brand has done since it went onto TV, shortly before a successful AIM flotation priced it at £560m in early 2014.

The film features the usual BooHoo crew of half a dozen young models in a desert town of outside Los Angeles and is underpinned by Hotter Than Hell, the Top 50 single by Warner Music signing Dua Lipa.

The off-kilter it-girl daughter of an Albanian pop singer, Lipa grabbed attention with last year’s Lucy ‘Pawws’ Taylor composition Be The One and her subsequent inclusion on the BBC Sound Of…2016 longlist.

Hotter Than Hell." was pitched directly to BooHoo by Warner’s Tim Miles who applauds the brand for its “openess to new music which is very in the moment and allows the label to turn the sync into a powerful release mechanic.”

For two weeks prior to Hotter Than Hell’s release on May 6, Warner granted BooHoo the exclusive use of 30 seconds of audio before any other radio, TV or online partners.

“That’s akin to us running our own teasers prior to release and had a really positive effect on the campaign launch,” says Miles.