The Atacan Couple Go Shopping in MR.DIY’s New Ad, So What Does a Famous Face Bring?
Two familiar Turkish faces, Pınar Altuğ Atacan and Yağmur Atacan, star in MR.DIY’s new ad film (Perakende.org, 6 October 2026). In the film, the pair shop in an MR.DIY store among decoration, hobby and everyday items, and the focus is on product variety. The film is live on YouTube.
What it means for you: a recognised face carries a store’s name to a much wider audience in one go, but it cannot replace the experience inside the store. If you run a hardware, DIY or home improvement shop, you can build your own “face” without a celebrity budget. More often than not, that face is already standing behind your counter.
What does MR.DIY’s ad film with the Atacan couple show?
The film tells the story of a shopping trip: the pair walk the aisles, looking at everything from decoration and hobby items to everyday needs and small household jobs. The message is not one discount or one product, but a feeling that “everything you need is here”. The report gives no details on the agency, the media plan or the budget.
Who does a celebrity ad affect in home improvement retail, and how?
In Türkiye’s home improvement and hardware retail in autumn 2026, a film like this hits three groups in different places. The chain’s own stores gain traffic, neighbourhood hardware shops fall behind in the race for attention, and local suppliers rethink what shelf visibility is worth.
What does a famous face really bring to a store chain like MR.DIY?
Attention, recall and a first visit. A famous face stops the viewer in the first second of an ad and pairs the brand’s name with a familiar face. But the second visit comes from the in-store experience. If the shelves are messy or the product is missing, the customer the ad brought in will not return.
How can a hardware shop with no ad budget build a face like MR.DIY’s?
By putting its own people forward instead of hiring a celebrity. When the shop’s craftsman, the person at the till or a happy customer appears in a short video, viewers see someone they know, not an advert. The scene below follows an anonymous, representative neighbourhood hardware shop; it contains no figures.
What does MR.DIY’s YouTube ad film say about a small business’s digital visibility?
Video is no longer a big-budget job. The chain puts its film on YouTube; a small business can put its short video on the same platforms, on its business profile and on its own website. The difference is that the big brand buys reach, while the small business shows up in local search and word of mouth.
What should a hardware or home improvement shop owner do this week after MR.DIY’s ad?
Write down the five questions customers ask most in your shop. This week, turn one of them into a one-minute video, told by the person who explains it best. You need no budget, a phone is enough; what you need is routine and consistency.
Quick Summary
- Pınar Altuğ Atacan and Yağmur Atacan star in MR.DIY’s new ad film (Perakende.org, 6 October 2026).
- The film highlights product variety through decoration, hobby and everyday items.
- MR.DIY opened its first store in Türkiye in Istanbul in 2021 (Investment Office).
- As of July 2023, MR.DIY had 50 stores in Türkiye; the current count is unconfirmed (TRMonitor).
- A small business can put its craftsman and customers forward through short video, without a celebrity budget.
Short Glossary
- Brand face
- A brand face is the marketing term used for the person who represents a brand in advertising and communication.
- Product variety
- Product variety is the retail concept used to describe how wide a range of products a store offers for different needs.
- Footfall
- Footfall is the retail measure used to count the people who pass by or walk into a store.
Frequently Asked Questions
Next Step
To plan together how your shop’s own face can become visible on video and in search, fill in the consult your expert form.
Sources: Perakende.org, 6 October 2026 · Investment Office of the Presidency of Türkiye · TRMonitor, July 2023 · Para Dergi, June 2022 · MR.DIY group website
Updated: October 2026
Sık Sorulan Sorular
According to the report, decoration, hobby and everyday items. MR.DIY’s group website puts its product count at around 20,000, while other sources give 18,000. The film tries to show that breadth in a single scene.
The company was founded in Kuala Lumpur in 2005 and opened its first store in Türkiye in Istanbul in 2021. The Investment Office of the Presidency of Türkiye presented this entry as an example of foreign direct investment. The 10th store followed in Istanbul in June 2022.
No. The latest confirmed figure comes from a July 2023 TRMonitor report: 50 stores and USD 25 million of investment. The same report says investment would rise to USD 45 million and that the company works with more than 200 local suppliers. No 2026 figure could be found in corporate sources.
A viewer who sees the ad thinks, “I’ll drop by that store”. That visit also means footfall for the mall or street where the store sits. In this sense, the chain store works like an anchor tenant, pulling customers into its surroundings.
The local hardware shop cannot compete with a chain on range, and it has no celebrity budget. If a customer arrives expecting “everything is there” and cannot find the screw they need, they turn around at the door. The small shop’s trump cards are know-how and personal attention.
A manufacturer that supplies the chain benefits when its product stands out in the ad or on the shelf. A supplier outside the chain has to strengthen its dealer network and its ties with neighbourhood shops.
Two well-known faces shop together on screen, and each finds something different in the same store. That makes the film about a shared trip rather than one shopper’s need. The company has not explained the choice; this reading is ours.
A face does not replace a promise kept. If prices, shelf layout and staff attention fall short of the ad, the attention a celebrity brings turns into disappointment. We talk more about a physical store’s relationship with its customers in our piece on Evidea’s high street store in Adana.
In July 2023, Dilara Neyisci Çağlı, COO of MR.DIY Türkiye, said: “We took our first step into Europe through Türkiye” (translated from Turkish). On the group website, Türkiye appears among the 16 countries where it operates.
The owner rolls up the shutter, and yesterday’s tap washers still sit on the counter. The craftsman who has worked there for years explains to a customer which silicone suits a bathroom. This conversation happens every day, yet nobody outside the shop ever hears it.
One day the owner’s daughter films the craftsman’s explanation on her phone and shares it as a short video. A few days later, a customer walks in and asks, “Are you the one from the video?” In that moment the shop finds its face: not a celebrity, but the craftsman himself.
Because he proves what he says at the counter every day. When customers find the person from the video in the store, there is no gap between the ad and the experience. What a famous face struggles most to deliver, words and reality meeting in one person, happens here on its own.
Instagram and YouTube short formats, plus WhatsApp status updates. A one-minute video answering a question customers ask often reaches far more people than answering it a hundred times at the counter.
Your profile should carry real photos of the craftsman and the shop, short videos and customer reviews. Someone searching for “hardware store near me” goes more readily to a shop whose face they can see than to one with stock photos.
On the first screen of the relevant product or service page. A video on choosing silicone belongs in the silicone category, and a video on drill bits on the drill bit page, so the search and the answer meet in the same place.
The most trusted person in the shop, usually the craftsman or the owner. If they are not comfortable talking to a camera, film them at the counter talking to a customer, with permission. Natural conversation is more convincing than a rehearsed line.
A short video showing what a slow seller does can stop it from gathering dust on the shelf. Customers do not put a product in the basket when they do not know what it is for. After the video, that question is already answered.
In some sectors, independents are also offered the option of joining a chain; we discuss this in our piece on Coffy’s model for bringing cafés into a chain. For those who want to build their own face, we prepare the video and publishing plan together through our digital media consulting service. More of the agenda is on our retail page. If you cannot hire a famous face, make the one you already have visible.
According to the report, the film is live on YouTube. The report does not give a TV schedule or campaign duration.
Yes. Short videos of the craftsman or owner answering customer questions, business profile photos and customer reviews build a strong face without a budget.
On the page for the product or service the video explains, visible on the first screen. That way, anyone searching for the topic finds the answer where they are looking.