Dixons calls in Darth Vader to train staff

HIGH STREET ELECTRONICS RETAILER Dixons Retail Group is using the dark side of the force to pull in consumers and has called in Darth Vader to train its staff in the pre-Christmas period.

Darth Vader, like R2D2 and C3PO before him, will be used by the firm in its advertisements, the first of which will air this week during music massacre hour, the ITV X Factor.

The ad begins like a scene from Return of the Jedi where Vader arrives at the Death Star to inspect the building work so far. However, it's not progress at the moon-sized laser that he is checking up on, but rather the in-store customer service experience that its Currys and PC World stores have been working hard to deliver.

The advert lasts for 40 seconds, but we have not seen it and expect it to be closely guarded until it is aired during The X Factor on Saturday, 5 November. In it Vader quizzes a staff member, checking to see whether they are up to his exacting customer service standards - someone tell that to the people of Alderon - then he seems pleased and wanders off to a reassuring on-message voice over.

"Last year's campaign featuring lovable droids C3PO and R2D2 was so successful that we were keen to work with Lucasfilm again to find a way of demonstrating the investment we have made in improving and enhancing our store staff," said Andrea Silver, Dixons Retail Group marketing director.

"The scene from Return of the Jedi is the ideal showcase for this, as it delivers an entertaining and positive twist to the original threatening storyline of the film." µ