Philips Wake Up The Town
Issue 21 | December 2011
Agency
Tribal DDB Amsterdam
Creative Team
Chief Creative Officer: Neil Dawson; Executive Creative Directors: Chris Bayliss; Associate Creative Directors: Mariota Essery, Paul Fraser
Production Team
Head Of Art: Mike Hambleton; Technical Lead: Jan-Willem Penterman; User Experience Director: David Vogel; Producer: Jeroen Jedeloo, Jolly Benerjee; Designer: Simon Cook, Leigh Hibell, Joris Blomjous; Design Intern: Stella Yu
Other Credits
Global Business Director: Sandra Krstic; International Account Director: Nick Bassermann; Strategic Planner: Joey Duis; Music: Garron Chang; Colorist: Michael Gossen; Director, Stamp Films: Doug Pray Director of Photography, Stamp Films: Denzil Armour-Brown; Producer, Stamp Films: Scott O’Donnell
Date
October 2010
Background
Communicate the benefits of Philips Wake-up Light, a sunrise simulator that wakes you up naturally so you feel more refreshed. Grow the market and increase consideration by at least 5%.
Idea
The nearest town to the North Pole was the setting for an experiment, to test how Philips Wake-up Light makes it easier to wake up. Why this town? The people live in total darkness for 4 months in winter, making it the hardest town in the world to wake up in.
People followed the experiment through a charming campaign site, designed to reflect life in this dark Arctic town. Mini-doc films recorded the town’s progress and infographics showed how the town woke up each day. The townsfolk’s honest reactions were not edited by Philips at any time.
To promote the experiment, director Doug Pray made online documentaries about the townsfolk taking part.
Results
- 87% of townsfolk found they were waking up more alert & easier
- 98% wanted to keep using the WUL
- Time spend interacting with content on the site was on average three minutes
- The video content got 676,108 views on YouTube
- In Sweden the Wake Up Light purchase intent increased by 18%
- The market share in The Netherlands increased by 17%
Our Thoughts
I am of two minds for this campaign. The lengths to which the Tribal DDB team went in terms of strategy and execution is beyond admirable. All just to sell a bedside lamp. Even without conclusive sales results (or even inconclusive, for that matter), this is a pleasant idea and another fine example of ‘vicarious experiential’ (see page XX).