Vending Machines Where They’re Needed Most
Mars North America
Issue 34 | March 2015
Agency
BBDO New York
Creative Team
CCO BBDO Worldwide David Lubars CCO BBDO New York Greg Hahn Executive Creative Directors Peter Kain Gianfranco Arena Tom Markham Creative Directors Peter Albores Hunter Fine Art Director Hunter Fine Copywriters Peter Albores Jessica Rello
Production Team
Agency Producers Neely Lisk (Senior Integrated Producer) Courtney Fallow (Jr Producer) Amy Feldman Videographers Koji Yahagi Keith Vogelsong Editor Keith Vogelsong
Other Credits
Account Team Susannah Keller Josh Steinman Tani Corbacho Group Planning Director Crystal Rix Planner Alaina Crystal
Date
September 2014
Background
Since its launch in 2010, "You're not you when you're hungry" had become a successful global campaign for Snickers. The brand strategy aimed to bring relief to those who were off their game due to the debilitating side effects of hunger. The campaign was translated into over 60 languages in more than 40 countries and was brought to life in countless forms of both traditional and non-traditional media.
Idea
Snickers travelled the country, trying to be there for people when they were most at risk of making mistakes due to hunger. Vending machines were set up where they were needed most, in places like Las Vegas, Wall Street and on college campuses, and where they would remind people of the dire consequences of being off your game due to hunger.
Copy lines appropriate to the site were written across the machines. Outside a Wedding Chapel in Las Vegas the message read, 'You don't think things through when you're hungry.'
On Wall Street it was, 'You buy high and sell low when you're hungry."
If passers-by tweeted about Snickers using the hashtag #EatASnickers the machine automatically dispensed a bar.
Results
While the campaign ran, #EatASnickers became a trending topic with over 800,000 impressions on owned and earned content. And who knows how many hungry mistakes were prevented?
Our Thoughts
At Directory we are big fans of BBDO New York for the amazing breadth of their output. In 2014 the agency picked up awards for 52 separate pieces of work. What that tells you is that the creative people see pretty much every brief as an opportunity to do something interesting or innovative. This is a perfect example of the culture that runs deep in the place (and long may it continue).
An idea which won’t have them raising allelujahs in Cannes but which will deservedly pick up bronze medals here and there for being smart, for being interesting and for being social.
When a brand behaves like a friend (you don’t wanna do that, buddy) and gives you stuff free (a chocolate bar) then it is going to prosper in the twittersphere and beyond.