It’s hard to stand out in the cluttered diet category, but Slim-Fast Optima has managed to do so. The Toronto-based Unilever brand launched a campaign in mid-June, featuring cheeky URLs to drive traffic to the Slim-Fast Web site. Within the first three weeks traffic had increased by 263%.
Unique URLs like mybabyweighs8poundssowhydid-igain40.ca and iworkouthardsowhyismybuttsoft.ca appeal to different bull’s-eyes within the female target. The media buys were carefully selected to appeal to each target too: the Today’s Parent ads feature the baby URL, while gym posters feature the workout version.
Print, 10-second TV ads and outdoor executions all feature a different URL, and there are four online executions; each with realistic weight-loss lifestyle plans and tips that cater to the different targets.
Christina Yu, VP/CD at Toronto-based Lowe Roche, and Kimberley Walsh, SVP/CD at Toronto-based MacLaren McCann Direct & Interactive, weigh in on whether this campaign is fit or flab.
Concept
KW: This is a sensible, strategic, well-executed campaign. The sentiments are honest and resonant. It’s a very pragmatic execution. It doesn’t promise an instant solution – but it puts an option in front of the consumer after getting their attention with an opening line that makes sense to them.
CY: I loved the idea of creating a series of funny and insightful URL names that are also headlines.
KW: The lines all work in the context of where they hang. You can imagine a nod of agreement from every reader in the environment against which they were targeted.
Online
CY: I like that the bulk of the information was found online, not crammed into the ads.
KW: The Web site is fun. There’s a lot of relevant content, not just product, so there is more than one source of value. It’s also a site that plainly will be adding content over time, drawing visitors back, if they’re impressed enough by the content they’ve found on their initial visit.
Outdoor
CY: I found myself struggling to remember some of the longer URL lines, which could be a problem in outdoor when you don’t have the time to spend reading as you do with print.
KW: The gym ad makes perfect sense placed in a gym changing room. It speaks to the consumer in language that reflects their goals and objectives in that environment and in that very moment. It’s not a stretch to imagine they’d find a way to remember that URL.
TV
CY: Liked the simplicity, but, I found myself forgetting the [long] URL names. Not sure if this is the best medium for the message.
KW: It’s intriguing, and drives the viewer to the Web site, if they’ve had the time to jot down the URL.
The creds:
Client – Slim-Fast Canada (Unilever): Geoff Craig, marketing director; Sinem Uner, brand manager; Toula Stathopoulos, Jeff Wong, assistant brand managers
Agency – Ogilvy & Mather: Janet Kestin, Nancy Vonk ACDs; Brent Choi, copywriter; Helen Pak, art director; Laurie Young, account director; Stephen Scarrow, account executive
OgilvyInteractive: Jason Theodor, ACD; Jess Willis, copywriter; Evan Long, art director; Debra Luneau, manager of customer experience
Web site – Tribal DDB: Michael Parker, Neil McPhedran, managing directors; Dre Labre, CD; Neil Gunner, copywriter; Chris Page, AD; Roch Berniquez, account director; Paul Lin, senior account executive; Drew Ellis, information architect; Cathy Kim, producer; Hamish MacGregor, James Marshall, Clint Hannaford, programmers
