Who: Nestle Canada, with Courage for strategy and creative; production by Merchant (with Benji Weinstein directing the TV spot) and Nimble (for mall activation); Saints and Alter Ego for post-production; and OSO Audio for sound.
What: A campaign that encourages people to slow down during the frantic holiday season. It’s the first major campaign from Courage since being named the brand's AOR in the summer.
What: A campaign that encourages people to slow down during the frantic holiday season. It’s the first major campaign from Courage since being named the brand's AOR in the summer.
When & Where: There are two distinct parts to this campaign: a traditional ad campaign and buy including TV, online and social video running through the holidays, along with an activation at Sherway Mall in Toronto.
Why: For many people, the holidays are a frantic, fast-paced period, jam-packed with shopping, decorating, dinners, and parties (school, work and home).
“But the Turtles brand we’ve come to know over the years has always represented the exact opposite of that: the importance of finding the time to appreciate the here and now,” said Courage co-founder and CCO Joel Holtby. “So, we wanted to create a fun reminder for the treat that naturally compels us to literally stop what we’re doing and just enjoy the moment.”
How: The ad campaign is anchored by a TV spot in which a busy family talks very quickly about the many holiday events and commitments familiar to many consumers. The chaos stops when a box of Turtles appears, and everyone stops to enjoy one of the chocolate treats. “Holidays can be fast. Let’s take it slow,” explains a super, before the spots with an earnest delivery of the longstanding tagline: “mmm I love Turtles.”
The cast trained with top cattle auctioneer Dean Edge to learn how to speak quickly with the right cadence to be understandable for the viewers.
To deliver a more literal, IRL demonstration of the brand message, Courage also created a speed trap at the popular Sherway Gardens shopping mall in Toronto.
When people were clocked moving past the speed gun at faster than average walking pace, they were given a “speeding ticket” and two free Turtles to encourage them to slow down and enjoy a moment with someone special. A video capturing the speed shoppers being slowed down by Turtles was posted to YouTube.
"With a name like Turtles, and a super chewy caramel that takes a while to savour, slow is definitely part of Turtles’ DNA," Courage co-founder and CCO Dhaval Bhatt. "It was just kinda lost. At Courage, we’re always trying to get to work that connects to the brand’s DNA and connect that to what’s happening in culture."
And we quote: "Enjoying Turtles over the holidays is such a storied tradition for many Canadian families… We wanted to extend this tradition in a fun, loud and light-hearted way with millennials, when they’re at a life stage where they’re developing their own holiday traditions." —Ashley Edelstein, marketing director, Nestlé Canada
