TAXI DELIVERS KNOCKOUT PUNCH - Strategy

media aoy bronze
Quebec Foundation for the Blind
Leo & Choc
90
Research showed that the number one factor affecting quality of life for the blind is social rejection. To combat that
stigma, PHD based its strategy on the insight that the best way to increase social acceptance was to have people
experience the reality of blindness.
To accomplish that, they employed the element of surprise. Consumers would receive the foundation’s message where
they least expected it – during television programming rather than in a commercial break. To be powerful, the concept
needed a high-adrenaline environment where consumers would be greatly disappointed to miss the visual support of the
television program.
In Canada, that meant hockey. PHD executed the stunt during NHL news coverage on French Canada’s most-watched
sport channel, RDS. During primetime news, the TV screen blacked out while the sound continued to transmit as usual.
After 10 seconds, a text appeared explaining that it was not a technical error, but rather a taste of what it’s like to be blind.
To avoid backlash, the stunt ran only once, with the agency team working directly from the station studios. It resulted in
an increased number of calls for donations, as well as trade and mainstream press and a YouTube posting that became
one of the most-watched videos in the Nonprofi t and Activism category. The campaign was a fi nalist in the Public Service
category at Cannes.
In Quebec, chocolate milk was seen as something strictly for little kids. To get past
that perception, Parmalat and BBDO created the animated characters Leo & Choc
to entertain, engage and drive the 12- to 34-year-old target to an interactive website
engineered to make chocolate milk cool.
To break through to this discriminating and savvy target group, PHD brought Leo &
Choc to life in edgier, more mature media environments: cinema, print, online social
networks and instant messaging, as well as video-game integration and iPod, wallpaper
and mini-clip downloads.
The campaign launched with three 15-second cinema spots during the run of The
Simpsons Movie. Print focused on free dailies and weeklies, such as Voir and Metro.
The in-game advertising component integrated virtual billboards within Xbox 360 video
games. Within social networks, PHD employed a new advertising format, a
semi-transparent animated super above the selected video that gave the viewer a
choice of clicking to follow Leo & Choc to their microsite or continuing to view the
chosen video. A unique cost-per-engagement pricing model was introduced for this
placement, instead of paying on a CPM basis.
Within fi ve months, chocolate milk consumption had increased by 5%. Visits to the
website increased by 234% vs. the previous campaign (more than 290,000 visits) and
fans created over 28,000 animated clips, which received 103,000 votes. The campaign
generated extensive blog coverage and Parmalat redesigned its chocolate milk boxes to
feature the cartoons.
Honourable mention: MediaCom
Our judges put MediaCom in the top four for its outstanding media plans for Pfi zer, Rogers Wireless and TD Canada Trust. To view their cases, go to aoy.strategymag.com
www.strategymag.com