The weather’s warm, the clothes are minimal, and young adults are out and about with thoughts of getting frisky dancing in their heads. What better brand to take advantage of this than Frisk candies?
The brand’s latest campaign to launch Liquid Frisk and three new power mint flavours plays up the tagline ‘Open Your Mouth’ with online, outdoor and field executions that feature blunt statements like ‘Honey, I’ve been faking it for the past 10 years.’
Street teams are handing out samples and surprising passersby in downtown Montreal, Toronto and Vancouver with cheeky personalized statements like ‘Wow! Nice Diesel jeans. Looking good!’ Some of the transit and washroom ads are interactive, with motion-triggered sound cards that blurt out a blunt headline when consumers enter.
The OOH and field efforts entice consumers to check out the microsites (www.openyourmouth.ca and www.ouvretaboite.ca), where a provocative host spews insults, aund taunts users to make comebacks, which are then rated for cleverness. Those who are proud of their retorts can send them to friends.
We asked Paul Long, CD at MacLaren McCann Calgary, and Jeff Rogers, VP, field marketing at Mississauga, Ont.-based Mosaic, to weigh in on whether this campaign is hot or not.
Overall concept
JR: Clearly this promotion wasn’t targeting my Mom. But, being a small brand, this edgy and youth-targeted approach works. It encourages consumers to speak up and be noticed, which is empowering for the youth culture of today.
PL: This is genius! Finally, we can all have an excuse for saying outrageous things. It could mean peace on earth. A nicely integrated campaign built around a solid premise.
Outdoor
JR: The combination of ‘Sorry, Jim, size does count’ with ‘Don’t be afraid to open your mouth’ will get good laughs from the male population.
PL: I’d love to see it taken further. There is some fun stuff here, but I hope they can find ways to grow their idea into new ground, like tapping into the fact that outrageous things are said every day by all kinds of people (Simon Cowell, the Dixie Chicks, Dick Cheney) and people love to hear them.
Website
JR: Well done. The audio component adds fun and interactivity that could result in viral activity – it’s unlikely a consumer who stumbles across the site wouldn’t play along at least once, and perhaps pass it on.
PL: The idea of an interactive website for outrageous things has great potential, but I was having trouble making it work. Regardless of how witty or lame my response was, the score didn’t reflect the quality of the quip, and I couldn’t stay engaged.
Street teams
JR: It integrates very well with the brand’s direct and provocative communication. Linking a message to every sample and driving consumers to the website will build the overall buzz around the campaign. The outdoor communication has limited new product messages so the trial component is critical to gain consumer understanding.
PL: Another great idea. I hope they are funny and not simply insulting me. Unless they are insulting someone else in the bus shelter – that would be funny. Love getting product into people’s hands and this seems to be a good way to do it.
The creds:
Client – Perfetti van Melle Canada:
Laurence Pichon, director of marketing, Canada
Ad agency – Blitz direct, data et promotion/ Cossette Communication-Marketing
Thomas Nelligan, Patrick Beauduin, CDs; Mathieu Bouillon, Richard Villeneuve, copywriters; Martin Baron, AD; Alia Abouzeid, media planner; Catherine Thibault, Shirin Gunny, client services
Interactive agency – Fjord Interactive Marketing + Technology; Cossette Communication Group:
Katherine Melançon, CD; Janine Hopkinson, Denis Duran, copywriters; Nicolas Thiboutot, AD; Florian Schedler, client services; Jean-François Rousseau, producer
