Ashes
Campofrio
Issue 36 | September 2015
Agency
McCann Madrid
Creative Team
Chief Creative Officer Monica Moro Executive Creative Directors Raquel Martinez Jon Lavin Art Director Rafa Quilez Copywriter Jon Lavin
Production Team
Pradel Los Producers Producers Martin Beilin Guzman Molin Production Company La Joya
Other Credits
Account Director Jesus Martinez Soria Account Managers Javier Gonzalo Elisa Lo´pez Veronica Fiz
Date
April 2015
Background
Every year at Christmas, Campofrio had talked to consumers about the everyday problems of life in Spain, urging them to "Let nothing and no one deprive us of our way of enjoying life".
However, in the run up to Christmas 2014, Campofrio suffered a serious blow when the Burgos factory went up in smoke. And, with it, the lives of hundreds of workers. The situation was very bleak.
Idea
In cases like this, all the crisis manuals advise saying nothing. Pedro Ballve´, Chairman of Campofrio, knew he could not keep silent. He wrote to all Campofrio's employees in Burgos, sending them each a brick.
Why a brick?
Because the secret to the longevity of Roman construction was that they made their bricks with ash, which made them more durable and longer-lasting.
The ashes of the old factory had been collected and had gone into the 894 bricks that were made, one for each of the 894 people who worked at the factory the day it burned down.
His promise was that they would begin building the new plant with those bricks.
Results
Not a job was lost and the future looks en- couraging for the 894 families who feared the worst. Campofrio was able to deliver to their own slogan, " Let nothing and no one deprive us of our way of enjoying life.
Our Thoughts
This is how you build a brand. Not just by acknowledging that the best way to do it is from the inside out, turning every employee into a brand ambassador. But by understanding that how you treat your people is a story that ripples outwards from the factory to the neighbourhood and to far beyond.