Side effects like these are hard to ignore.
Usually, potential complications are the bit you want to hide in two-point font or gloss over with a highly caffeinated speed-reader. Which is why the latest campaign for anti-aging skincare brand Reversa (owned by Montreal-based Dermtek Pharmaceuticals) is so darn clever. It centres on a sultry microsite seemoresideeffects.ca that illustrates some potential ‘side effects’ of using the product. Specifically, handsome young studs performing tasks like pastry making and car washing.
‘We wanted to tell a story and add an emotional appeal,’ says Stéphane Charier, VP/CD at Taxi Montreal. ‘We had a limited budget, so we had to find a way to get everyone talking about it.’
A print ad featuring a well-kept boomer woman sitting on a couch with a buff, nude young man will run in October and November issues of women’s mags like Chatelaine and Wish, and drives consumers to the microsite where ‘you can learn about the product in a fun way,’ says Charier. This ‘fun’ includes watching a very chiseled young plumber take a bubble bath, replete with rubber ducky play.
The campaign also includes a contest element with eBay. Reversa products will be auctioned off, with the highest bidders also getting a weekend of pampering with a ‘personable younger man.’
client: Robert Lavoie, president/CEO,
Dermtek Pharmaceuticals
agency: Taxi Montreal
VP/CD: Stéphane Charier
copywriters: Elyse Noël de Tilly, Brian Gill
ADs: Roberto Baibich, Patrick Chaubet
strategic planning director: Anne-Marie Leclair
account services: Audrey Lefebvre
photographers: Leda & St. Jacques
print producer: Hélène Joannette
Mac artist: Frédéric Simard
Interactive/design CD: Dominique Trudeau
interactive producer: Jessica Manchester
interactive planner: Elana Gorbatyuk
web production: Mecano
video production: La Fabrique d’images
director: Étienne Tallard
broadcast producer: Émilie Trudeau-Rabinowicz
sound production: Audio Z
music: Apollo
