Jeff Jackett
Marketing manager, Gatorade, Pepsi-QTG Canada
Behind the can’t-miss recent series of Gatorade ads, Jeff Jackett has managed to marry his deep passion for sports (he’s been called a sports lunatic) with a keen marketing savvy. The result has been some pretty slick spots, which helped double sales expectations of the Gatorade X-Factor brand, as well as snag NHL phenom Sidney Crosby before he became a star. (Incidentally, the first spot, which ends with Crosby running down the street with a hockey stick in hand being chased by hundreds of street hockey players, just launched in April.)
Before Gatorade, which he joined in 2003, Jackett spent nine years at Unilever, working as brand manager on Sunlight. We had to ask, what, really, do marketers get out of awards ceremonies like the Cannes Lions? ‘I’m sure many folks think not much,’ he says, ‘but they certainly help marketers both recruit and retain talent. People want to work for [brands] that do good work.’
Pick #1
Campaign: Dose
Agency: Rethink
The concept: A multiplatform campaign all about attitude, irreverence and fun that used TV, wild postings and transit shelters to target 18-34.
Why do you like it?
Witty humour with shock value and stopping power. Love the casting.
Why is it effective?
Very fresh, cynical, and distinctly different. The reader should also expect this in the content.
What consumer insight has it tapped into?
Finally, a media source as disaffected, cynical and apathetic
as its target!
What makes it Cannes worthy?
Brave, distinctive, cuts through, and could appeal to the non-conformist fibres still left in the judges.
Pick #2
Client: Nike Hockey Training Outdoor
Agency: Taxi
The concept: A very big campaign featuring NHL players. One element of the campaign pushed OOH to rarely used 50 ft. and 150 ft. heights with images of the athletes hanging from a crane in Toronto and on a floating billboard in Vancouver Harbour.
Why do you like it?
It’s totally unique, imaginative and larger-than-life. When I first saw Jarome Iginla hanging upside-down from the ceiling in Square One mall in Mississauga, my first reaction was: ‘That’s cool.’ And the more executions I saw the more I said that. I also like it because they didn’t scream out who the athletes were. Nike was confident enough to know their youth target would know.
Why is it effective?
The bigness of it, the unconventional shapes, the unconventional placement (the barge execution in Vancouver was brilliant), the call to action and the way to find out more through the website. It’s just really well done.
What consumer insight has it tapped into?
The specific product featured by the ad is not that unique – there are lots of other training performance apparel lines out there. But by positioning the product in a unique and dynamic way not only will it get noticed, but it can also elevate people’s performance perceptions of the product.
What makes it Cannes worthy?
Fresh, original, likeable, memorable. And Cannes and other awards festivals need to do a better job of recognizing non-film ads, especially in light of changing media habits of consumers.
