You’d have to have a brain the size and consistency of a spoonful of horseradish to poke yourself in the eye with a celery stick.
Well, a recent Mott’s Clamato ad is full of such Einsteins, mainly in the form of leggy blondes who stumble through everyday tasks like applying makeup and purchasing footwear, due to a strategically placed eye patch that obscures their peripheral vision, as well as the damage.
The ad is part of an umbrella strategy for both Mott’s Clamato and the brand’s ready-to-drink Bloody Caesar products, according to Toronto-based marketing manager Paul Gleason. It is also aimed at a younger audience than the traditional Caesar drinker.
‘We’ve been well established with the older, core consumer, [but we need] to expand, and make it more relevant to younger consumers. They can identify with the style of humour and they can [understand] that we’re poking fun at ourselves.’
The point of the spot, one would think, is that Mott’s Clamato is so yummy, those-blessed-with-beauty-but-not-brains may miss an oversized green garnish altogether and go straight for a sip.
But that’s only a small part of it, says Andrew Simon, VP and CD at DDB Canada, Toronto, which crafted the ad. ‘It all started with the insight that some people enjoy Caesars, and some people don’t. We embraced that fact and personified it, by using the celery stick as a creative device.’
And while most of the star dimwits are indeed fair-haired females, there was no intention to be offensive, which is why DDB included a trio of eye patch-accessorized guys in the ad too. Simon also notes that the whimsical music communicates a lighthearted message off the bat.
Still the tagline ‘not recommended for everyone’ suggests exclusivity. Says Simon: ‘What we’re saying is, ‘this is a good drink for some people and not for others. Hopefully you’re one of us.” Then again, given the dangers of celery, why not just serve olives?
Client: Mott’s Canada
Agency: DDB Canada Toronto
Creative Director: Andrew Simon
Copywriter: Andrew Simon
Art Director: Paul Wallace
Agency Producer: Andrew Schulze
Account Services: Joy Birch, Gina Kiroff, Russ Sunderji
Production Company: Plaza Films, Sydney, Australia
Director: Paul Middleditch
Post-Production: School Editing/AXYZ/Notch
Editor: Griff Henderson, School Editing
Sound/Music:Rosnick MacKinnon
