TAXI DELIVERS KNOCKOUT PUNCH - Strategy

OGILVY & MATHER • MAXWELL HOUSE
HONEYCOMB
aoy fi nalist
Our judges couldn’t get enough of last year’s Silver winner, Toronto-based Ogilvy &
Mather. Zulu Alpha Kilo founder and president Zak Mroueh called the faux Diamond
Shreddies relaunch campaign “simply a brilliant, textbook marketing idea,” while Dory
Advertising CD Donna McCarthy said Dove’s Pro-Age work was “just so good.”
Kraft wanted to tout its new 100% Arabica formulation, grow volume – a daunting goal as the price of
coffee beans was going through the roof – and engage consumers in a meaningful dialogue.
Ogilvy brought to life a new North American platform, “Brew some good,” in the local market, kicking
things off with a $100,000 donation to Habitat for Humanity.
On “On the House Day,” startled commuters got free coffee, subway tokens and performances from
Chantal Kreviazuk and Pascale Picard. Free copies of Maclean’s featured the fi rst-ever print ad on the
popular “good news/bad news” page.
Rather than spend the $200,000 TV budget on an ad, Ogilvy used $19,000 for a bare-bones production
and asked consumers where to spend the rest by nominating groups on brewsomegood.ca. While
online, people could subscribe to an RSS feed to receive some good news each morning. Every piece of
communication was harmonized with the redesigned can, created in collaboration with the agency.
Results were strong, with 1,848 nominations in the fi rst three months. Share increased in April, May and
June, despite a price increase right before launch. Web visits tracked 20% to 50% above the anticipated
range, and PR resulted in over a million audience impressions and 203 stories – including 66 television news
segments. The “Regent Park” spot (showcasing one of the chosen charities) was a fi nalist at Cannes.
Last year Kraft Canada launched Ogilvy’s “The boy raised by bees” campaign for Honeycomb with
outstanding results. So when they faced pressure to harmonize with a U.S. campaign, they responded by
pitching an evolution of the Beeboy for the American market.
The U.S. division wasn’t convinced at fi rst that the Canadian work fi t its target. So Ogilvy pushed the
storyline forward, moving from the discovery of the Beeboy to his adventures in the world. With more
online activity and more opportunity to show a quirky personality, the campaign was better aligned with
the American brand character.
TV drove to beeboy.org, which was packed with original content and layered with a three-level game,
new videos with higher production values and more sophisticated storylines the tween target could see
themselves in. YTV promotions online also drove to the site.
Beeboy and Honeycomb are a big hit with Canadian kids, and the U.S. recently picked up the campaign
and changed the packaging. Based on IP addresses, kids are viewing beeboy.org from school and
sharing viral videos with their friends. Beeboy ads were uploaded to YouTube, YTV generated eight million
impressions and Canada will continue to lead on future creative work.