Sky's the limit for hair transplant campaign

“Hair is a natural part of who we are, vital to our self-image. If you’re happy with your hair, then so are we. If you’re not...”

It might be the melancholy piano notes of Erik Satie’s Gymnopédie No.1, but Hair Restoration Blackrock’s three-year-old television advertisement has a hypnotic effect – even on those of us unlikely to require its services.

But it is no more. The hair transplant clinic has commissioned agency Target McConnells to produce a new advertisement.

“Our view is that the message has worked for us, but we feel the ad itself has reached the end of its life cycle,” says HRBR’s Michael Collins.

The clinic, which has previously treated X Factor judge Louis Walsh and actor James Nesbitt, is investing a “reasonable” sum in a new campaign that will begin its run shortly on Sky channels that have Irish advertising opt-outs.

“The bulk of the booking” is on Sky News, which has proven “integral” to its marketing in recent times, according to Collins.

Hair transplants are no longer quite so taboo – thanks in large part to the media glare on the head of one highly exposed footballer.

“Wayne Rooney was really a watershed in terms of the acceptance of hair transplants,” says Collins. But the new advertisement won’t be a radical departure from the old, he adds.

Some viewers may not be able to tell the difference.