Burberry’s return to British tradition is aptly understated

Burberry is reasserting its traditional British heritage in a new series of adverts that play to the national characteristics of restraint, calm and obsession with the weather.

Olivia Colman and Barry Keoghan take memorable turns in Burberry’s ‘It’s Always Burberry Weather’ campaign, highlighting seven new outerwear designs. Shot by Alasdair McLellan, the campaign features humorous short films set in London and the British countryside. Colman, dressed in a quilted jacket, plays an insomniac counting sheep on a rural road, while Keoghan portrays an actor rehearsing lines outside a café in a padded coat.

This return to a distinctly old-school Britishness follows the house’s decision to bring back its logo coined “The Shelter”, which was largely in use from the 1970s to the early 1990s, displaying a man and woman with their backs together, beside two dogs in less than clement weather.

Burberry’s chief creative officer, Daniel Lee said the campaign is influenced by the warmth, humour, and familiarity of Burberry’s heritage. The trench coat and outerwear, staples of the brand, aid in this connection with Burberry’s British roots. Lee described how the campaign sought to evoke British landmarks and personalities, underscoring the significance of outerwear in Burberry’s identity.

There’s also a return to a focus on practicality, according to Chief Executive Joshua Schulman, who described the campaign as a celebration of Burberry’s original purpose—’creating outerwear designed to face the elements with confidence and style’. Schulman added that it combines wit with resilience, and aims to reignite global customer appreciation for Burberry’s craftsmanship.

In addition to Colman and Keoghan, the campaign features appearances by Cara Delevingne, rapper Little Simz, footballers Cole Palmer and Eberechi Eze, and actress Zhang Jingyi, Burberry's newest global ambassador.

Our take

There’s an effortlessness in Burberry’s latest adverts that demonstrates an undeniable confidence and sense of authenticity as it returns to its very British roots. 

One of the advert’s, featuring footballer Cole Palmer fishing for nine minutes(!), pushes the brand’s assuredness to its limits. The message seems to be “he’s in a duffel coat, and the weather’s a bit shit. But this is the sort of thing you do in a duffel coat in Britain”.

While it’s unlikely many will sit there for the full duration of Palmer’s ad, the underlying message is hard to argue with. The British, you see, can be a bit dull, but sometimes we like it that way.

Olivia Colman’s portrayal of a rural insomniac does little to rectify Burberry’s unashamedly pedestrian mood with her slightly dotty but stoic performance, which manages to be warm and familiar while carrying an unquestionable sense of ‘Britishness’.

The same goes for Cara Delevinge’s turn as a Camden canal dweller. There’s not a lot going on, but that’s sort of the point.

Lead image credit: Burberry campaign.