From the Start
Mondelez International
Issue 43 | June 2017
Agency
OgilvyOne Worldwide, Athens
Creative Team
Executive Creative Director Panos Sambrakos Creative Director Theodore Tsecouras Art Director Gert Tzafa Associate Creative Director George Theodorakopoulos Web Designer Athanasia Lykoudi
Production Team
Screenwriter Myrto Kontova Director Vardis Marinakis Producer, Foss Productions Stelios Cotionis Editor Lambis Charalambidis Composer Vangelis Tountas
Other Credits
Business Unit Director Christina Alifakioti Account Director, Bold Ogilvy & Mather Elena Vlagouli Business Unit Director, Bold Ogilvy & Mather Theodore Politis
Date
January 2017
Background
During a tough market recession in Greece, chocolate consumption dropped and competition was fierce. To make a breakthrough, Lacta chocolate wanted to remind consumers of its uniquely sweet taste, by comparing it to the sweetness of falling in love.
Idea
"From the start" was a five-part web series, that told the story of a man who did not believe in love. But every time he ate a piece of Lacta chocolate, he saw a girl in his dreams and began to fall for her. Each dream began again from the start and he had to try to advance the plot to spend as much time with her as possible. Eventually he became convinced that the woman of his dreams existed in real life and he set out to find her.
Results
The web series had two million viewers in a country of five million Internet users. Lacta's YouTube channel became number one in Greece, with the biggest number of views and the most subscribers in the country. The story not only captivated audiences but managed to get everyone talking about the effect eating Lacta chocolate had.
The buzz around Lacta's magical taste did wonders for sales as well, growing them by 14% against the previous year.
Our Thoughts
Usually at Directory, like our readers, we look out for and applaud the NEW and the BOLD. Here, however, is a campaign that is same-old, same-old. And oh my goodness, sustaining interest is so much harder than attracting it in the first place. OgilvyOne Athens understands how to produce branded content better than 99.9% of agencies anywhere in the world. They have been creating intriguing and involving stories around and about Lacta for nearly ten years. Note that word 'about'. Not only is the brand at the heart of this series, so is the product. That's very difficult to pull off. This won't win awards, because juries are familiar with the narrative. But that doesn't make it any less outstanding as creative work.