The Whiteley. Reawakened.

Once the world’s largest and most iconic department store, The Whiteley was renowned around the globe. Disused and hiding in plain sight for years, The Whiteley is undergoing a multi-million pound overhaul. We fused human creativity with AI to create a next generation installation and awareness campaign.

We partnered on

Out of home
Placemaking
AI Image generation
Retouching
CGI
Campaign and activation
Hoarding
Campaign planning

The bold ambition

The big ideas

The Whiteley’s beautiful Victorian façade features classical statues and sculptures. Originally the embodiment of the joy and stature of the department store, we took these as the creative starting point. By reimagining classical statues enjoying modern day pursuits and indulgences we captured both the classic legacy of the building with a new spirit and excitement, all with a smile in the mind.

The concept of ‘The Whiteley. Reawakened’ was created. This allowed us to announce the new phase of the building, but also draw attention to the individual themes and messages we needed to communicate.

Once we had created the campaign idea, a large suite of images were generated using AI and traditional photography. These were then increased in size to over four metres tall using AI enlargement software and then re-edited, retouched and replaced with more traditional 3d mapping and digital image manipulation.

“Pollitt & Partners have proved an invaluable resource to the team at The Whiteley, providing best-in-class strategy, marketing material and creative thinking – all helping us to achieve our sales goals. The team at Pollitt & Partners have a friendly and efficient way of working, and have helped us to create a meaningful brand and global campaigns to support our landmark development.”

Sarah Campbell

Head of Marketing, The Whiteley

150m of façade
30 unique AI assets

The grand façade of The Whiteley has graced Queensway for a century, but disuse and closure meant that its potential had been hiding in plain sight. With a complete reimagining underway by property giants Finchatton, the creative needed to underline that The Whiteley’s potential was once again realised – for tenants, residents, guests and visitors.

A campaign line of ‘…Reawakened’ allowed us to both acknowledge the building’s legacy, but highlight all the experiences that the new destination will bring.

We took inspiration from the statues on the building’s original Victorian façade. Reimagining these sculptures enjoying the new experiences and indulgences The Whiteley will deliver, including retail, restaurants, Six Senses hotel, spa and gallery.