While Italy once brought us the slow food movement, Turtles is now ushering in the slow holiday movement.
For its first major act with new AOR, Courage, which recently announced an expanded remit with parent Nestlé, Turtles rolled out its first activation for the brand, placing a speed camera in Toronto’s Sherway Gardens mall.
When the machine caught shoppers moving faster than the average walking speed, it printed a speeding “ticket” with a gentle reminder to slow down and make time for the things that really matter, like friends and family. And instead of instead of issuing a fine, the machine offered a pair of complementary Turtles.
Two videos amplify the idea of slowing down: one uses grainy CCTV speed cam footage to nail speed-walking “violators” and the other, the brand spot, shows a hyper-busy family speaking in quick-fire auctioneer cadence, dialed back to real life speed by Turtles.
“One of the most unifying aspects of the holiday season is that it’s often such a demanding whirlwind of activity,” said Joel Holtby, co-founder and CCO of Courage, adding that slow-moving turtles are the antithesis of that, and that the campaign insight was around slowing down and “finding the time to appreciate the here and now.”
Holtby tells strategy that Turtles is a historic brand, embedded in culture and everyone remembers the ’80s and ’90s jingle with it’s “I love Turtles” tagline, however it’s been relatively quiet on the holiday front as of late.
Ergo, this represented an excited opportunity, and as Holtby explains, the brief was simple – having people connect with the brand over the holidays, during a time when things are hectic. And the candy, being chewy, is a natural means of slowing people down.
Holtby says it’s important for brands to work to stand out in a hyper-competitive confectionery space across different touchpoints beyond holiday displays.
“People experience brands in such different media and formats,” he says, adding that Turtles is known for being a bit cheeky, so it is able to get away with more than other brands in the space.
The campaign is being supported by broadcast and digital, and is meant as a light-hearted way to connect with nostalgia-seeking millennials when they’re developing their own holiday traditions.
The treat, which claims nearly 75 years of brand equity, has always had a special place in people’s hearts over the Christmas season, Holtby says.
Thrive is the media partner.