Execution: TV & Online Interactive
Link: Click Here - The spots are there although you may have to experiment to find them.
Target: Gum Guys and Girls
Rating: ****
Reviewer: David
Description:
These quirky, funny animated ads feature South Park-style animation and unknowable foreign accents. The series is titled the ‘Attraction Chronicles’ sponsored by Winterfresh and details the tribulations of various animated boys and girls trying to attract the opposite sex. Of course there are Ninjas, castles and lots of random creatures. Each spot starts with ‘Winterfresh presents’ and ends with a Winterfresh package shot and the coolbreathpower.com website url. The online site has all of these spots

What works:
Wrigley and Energy BBDO have done a great job of creating a unique, differentiated look and feel for Winterfresh - one that will not be confused with anything else running right now. The brash animation and unusual pacing of these spots also makes them intrusive. You are as likely to be interested in watching them as whatever program you were watching, even if you are not in the target market for Winterfresh gum.

Surprisingly for one of these offbeat campaigns, the branding is not bad, either. Winterfresh gets billing at the beginning of each spot and then again at the end. This might not be enough in a single execution, but by producing numerous spots in the campaign, the style and visual signature of these spots also helps to reinforce the brand memorability.

The brand positioning of Winterfresh is effective because the personality of these ads shows the end benefit of the gum - a sparkling, quirky charm that is hard to forget.

What Doesn’t:
The ‘meaningful difference’ for this gum is not really what it appears (fresh breath) but something less easy to define - let’s say ‘fresh attitude.’ That means that these spots are really differentiating Winterfresh based on the unique execution of these spots. Doing this successfully over time requires luck and a steady hand. Luck is necessary because if other brands do not perceive that Winterfresh ‘owns’ this executional style (meaning that any time consumers see this particular type of animation in a commercial they will think Winterfresh), then it will certainly be copied. If this style is copied, Winterfresh will have difficulty keeping it uniquely linked to the Winterfresh brand. A ’steady hand’ is required with this advertising because it will take constant reinforcement to work. If Winterfresh moves on to a new campaign and a new executional style next year, it is very unlikely that this campaign will have any lasting effect on the brand.

Branding Bottom Line:
Winterfresh scores. Brand-building creativity like this gives us a good reason to keep watching commercials on television.