Advertising
Some cool campaigns and the story behind them.
A window for entrepreneurs on Independence Day
What to do when a date as important as Independence Day is approaching and the country is going through one of its worst political crises? Also, this wasn't even supposed to be a "regular old" Independence Day celebration but the 200th anniversary of Peruvian Independence.
Our client (Interbank) HAD to say something, but anything about national pride or the beauty of our country was out of the question. Times were rough, and the State surely didn't deserve any praise. Who was it then that was keeping the country afloat? Who was it that, in the midst of uncertainty and turmoil, was keeping the economy moving? The people, of course. And more specifically, the entrepreneurs who, against all odds, kept betting on their dreams and striving for their own financial independence.
Interbank's logo represents a window to opportunities and new possibilities, so we decided to make the metaphorical window a real one to give visibility to six entrepreneurs and their businesses who would be the protagonists of our commercial. They were not chosen randomly but were all bank clients whose businesses were somehow linked to each other.
The idea was to show how one entrepreneur's efforts can impact another. Then another and so forth in a beautiful chain of growth that ultimately benefits us all. We have Guille and Jackie, whose fish are transported by Jechu's "Frezco" cooling trucks. As Jechu's business thrives, he can pay off his debt to Karol, a uniform manufacturer who can now make the aprons for "La Picza," Jano's Peruvian-style pizzeria. Jano uses only fresh ingredients, some provided by Tayo and Magaly, owners of "La Muyita," a small organic orchard. With Jano's contribution, they can continue to grow their business and deliver fresh produce to bodegas like "Sumaq," owned by Beatriz. These are all real people with real businesses.
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The rhyming copy and music contribute to the feeling of a declamation which emphasizes that when we join forces and push each other forward, we can make a country grow (even in the harshest of circumstances).
A bank invites you to live with less
With the pandemic, our priorities shifted. Freedom became a precious commodity. Watching the sunset from our balconies or caring for our pets and plants became more meaningful than owning an expensive car or fancy clothes.
So to have a bank’s opening line be “There’s a different way of life, where experiences are worth more than things…” and actually invite us to “Go for more, with LESS” is something that makes me proud. Not only because this was the creative concept behind the pitch that got us the account but because the client was open-minded enough to say YES.
This may just seem like an ad that invites us to pay for everything with our phones and carry less weight by leaving our credit cards behind. But there’s more to it than that. It’s inviting us to keep only what adds value to our lives and embrace the freedom of dropping unnecessary mental and emotional baggage.
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We would have loved to show our character without the (very visible) face mask, but this was filmed mid-pandemic, and the bank didn't want to promote irresponsible behavior.
Even with the never-ending restrictions we were facing, the message here is clear: bring nature into your home and care for it, ditch the car and ride a skate once in a while, and invest in the things that make you happy. Is it music? Is it a hot drink with a long-time friend? Go for it.
"Success" used to equate wealth, status, a huge house, and a glass-doored office with walls covered in diplomas. But a successful life is not an ostentatious one. True success lies in freedom, joy, health, peace of mind, and -above all TIME to enjoy the small pleasures.
With this piece, we praise the simplicity of a hassle-free life which "Oh! By the way, you can access with just your phone!"
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An all-female pitch for Unilever
Ok, I hate to start with a disclaimer, but I deem it necessary in this case: the final version of the song is not something I'm particularly proud of. Why? Well, because we composed awesome hip-hop with empowering lyrics, which was gradually tuned down into this mellow girly version that lacks the punch and intensity of the original tune. But, hey! That's how it works in advertising (you know what I'm talking about).
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Cheesy music aside, I still think this piece is worth sharing because of its back story, its message, and how it came to be. McCann was invited to this pitch together with 5 other prestigious ad agencies in Lima. The product at stake was Sedal Shampoo, specifically, the relaunching of their pink product line, and the brief posed the challenge of how pink could be reinvented.
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The target audience? Women. We're the ones who can authentically grasp what pink has represented for decades and how its meaning has evolved over the years. So it only made sense that this pitch was led by women And it made all the difference.
Competing against some of the most experienced creative teams, all led by men, in McCann, our pitch "dream team" was composed solely of talented females (I humbly include myself). From planners to brand leaders, project managers to creative directors, graphic designers, and filmmakers, there was not ONE guy on the team. And don't get me wrong, I have nothing against guys (I love working with you guys, if you're reading this). It's just a major milestone in the advertising world to have a pitch led and produced by an all-female squad. Even more so if they win, which we did ;)
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In Spanish, the word for pink is "rosado," and the word for courageous is "osado," basically the same word minus the "r." So we used this phonetic similarity to turn them into synonyms.
The campaign screamed that pink was no longer linked to princesses, damsels in distress, or fragile little girls. Pink could and can mean bravery, strength, and unity among women.
For too long, we have been (and still are) compared and made to compete with each other in terms of beauty, skills, and success. And the media reinforces this behavior. It actually profits from it. To counteract this societal issue, we decided to show how we ARE, in fact, stronger together and don't need to compete but instead unite to reach common goals.
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The coolest thing was that to communicate all this, our protagonists were real-life strong, talented women; a successful entrepreneur, a team of karate medalists, a duo of adventure travelers, and even a group of female Scissor Dancers, a traditional Peruvian dance restricted only to men for decades. These fiery gals show us that pink can mean whatever you want it to and that, hand in hand, we'll go further and faster than if we waste our time and energy being critical and envious of each other.
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We wanted singer Renata Flores to be the leading voice in our commercial because she's a musical pioneer who combines Quechua (an ancient Andean tongue and one of Peru's official languages) with urban rhythms. However, as a specific request from our client, we were asked to include a famous actress to reach a larger audience which is why Mayra Goñi appears as co-singer and main protagonist.
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Even if the song fell short of what we had ideated initially, the powerful message is still intact, and the pitch itself became proof of how female alliances can achieve outstanding results.
Your balcony refuses to be a dumpster
Our concept "A thousand reasons to go outside" won the regional pitch for Sodimac's annual "Terrazas" campaign (it's worth noting that "terraza" in Spanish means everything from a medium-sized balcony to a deck, a porch, a patio, or an actual terrace).
Sodimac is a Chilean brand also present in Peru, Colombia, Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay, and Mexico, so producing the piece in Peru was a great responsibility. Since it would be aired in other Latin American countries, t we had to be particularly careful with casting and scouting so that the actors and locations could pass as local in all countries. But aside from the production challenge, there was another issue to tackle; we would be competing with a dozen other stores advertising patio furniture, and to be honest, product-wise, we all offered pretty much the same stuff.
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So instead of going for the usual product-focused approach, which would get lost in a sea of sameness, we decided to emphasize the emotional side of patios (yes, there is one). While in the research and planning process, we found an insight common to every country we'd be airing the campaign: When home-hunting -whether to rent or buy- people REALLY appreciated an outdoor space. If the choice came down to very similar homes where one had a patio or balcony, and the other didn't, that single fact could be decisive. However, once they settled in, and after a few months of excitement about the outdoor space, many neglected it to the point where it became a sort of "plant cemetery / dusty storage / let's put this crap we can't figure out whether to throw away or not" area. A sad turn of events. Unfair, even from the terrace's point of view.
That was it! If the terrace could speak, it would say: "Hey! You wanted me so much, and now I'm this forsaken dumpster! What's that about?" So we did exactly that. We made the terrace narrate the ad in first person and tell us what it longed to be; definitely not a few square feet in the open air but the stage for unforgettable moments.
Fun meets environmentally responsible
One of Sodimac's summer best-sellers is inflatables. Giant, colorful plastic ducks, unicorns, and watermelons are favorites to float around and relax in the pool or the sea. Nothing wrong with that. However, there was a small BIG problem. The lifespan of inflatables is pretty short: between inflating and deflating them, exposure to high temperatures and handling, and people not having enough space to store them once beach season is over, these bright and fun objects sadly become plastic waste. Waste that many times ends up back in the ocean. Ironic huh?
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So, to keep the fun part of inflatables but avoid the pollution they cause once they "pass away", we came up with the BOLS.O.S campaign. "Bolsos" is Spanish for bags, but we added the S.O.S gimmick there ;)
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Through an all-digital campaign that included videos, ads, and influencer marketing, we invited people to donate their disused inflatables and trade them for practical and eye-catching reusable bags made from... you guessed it: RECYCLED INFLATABLES!
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The more inflatables we received, the more varied the bag designs we created. But BOLS.O.S didn't stop at that. Because inflatables tend to be massive, there was leftover plastic with the potential to become something even better: backpacks! However, we wouldn't trade those but donate them to a good cause. We promised our visitors that, for every inflatable they left at our campaign kiosks, Sodimac would donate a school backpack to an underprivileged student in the Peruvian jungle. Also, we didn't only receive disused inflatables purchased in Sodimac but anywhere.
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The campaign closed with a visit to a school in Pucallpa, a city deep in the Peruvian jungle, where not only did we hand over the coolest rainproof backpacks ever. We also taught the kids the value of recycling through a beautifully illustrated comic book explaining how their bags came to life. A win for them, us, and, above all, the environment.
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One of the online campaign promo videos
Campaign closure video
We can all feel fifteen again
In most Latin American countries, and especially within traditional families, when a girl turns 15, her parents go all out and throw her a huge (and usually pretty cheesy) party to celebrate her "coming of age." So when Sodimac came to us for an idea to communicate their 15th anniversary in Peru, we decided to go the "Quinceañero" way, full-on cheesiness and all!
Who doesn't remember being 15 and going through some MAJOR changes? Our bodies changed in often traumatizing ways, along with our tastes and attitudes. We were the masters of rebellion and rules were there to break them, we bit more than we could chew, we screwed up big time more than once, and we probably had our first crush.
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The concept behind this quirky ad was to portray all those teenage emotions and circumstances in grown-ups. Because let's face it, we experience change our entire life, and nobody really ever feels like an adult who's figured it all out. All this, while showcasing the "changes" (renovations) in our protagonists' homes, and thus highlighting Sodimac's role across the different stages of our life.
To add to the "Quince" mood, we dressed the cast with the tackiest possible "quinceañero" outfits and chose Johann Strauss' The Blue Danube (a traditional waltz danced by father and daughter at a "Quince" parties) as the leading musical background.
Sarcasm on Mother's Day?
Why not. Although, as a brand, Sodimac usually shows the bright side of life, on this occasion we decided to go sarcastic to make a strong point. Mother's Day -in Perú and in most parts of the world- is the day when we spoil mom.
We make bring her breakfast to bed, take her out to lunch, clean, cook, tidy up, and basically treat her like a queen. Fabulous. Except for the fact that it usually lasts that ONE day.
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The rest of the year, mothers and women, in general, dedicate more than double the time to home tasks and responsibilities than any other family member. Having to work, administrate a household, and on top of that, be "a good mom" can be stressful,
So, instead of a touchy-feely "appreciation for mom" ad, or what would have been worse, showcasing products that would "make mom happy," we decided to spark awareness about something we've all been guilty of: helping mom out for just a day.
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Why? Because a brand's voice has the potential to plant a seed for healthier behavior. Even today, family members find it hard to grasp that it's not about "helping" or waiting for mom to "ask for help." It's about acknowledging that if we share a household, we should all pitch in.
An unusual Back to School campaign
Jockey Plaza (the largest mall in Lima) asked us to develop a concept for their annual Back to School Campaign, and we decided to step out of the regular "we've got all you need to start classes" approach. It's true that at Jockey, parents can find everything their kids could want to start classes fully equipped, from backpacks to desks, notebooks to lunch boxes. Everything except courage.
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For the thousands of children who are victims of bullying, starting a new year at school isn't exactly exciting. In fact, it's pretty horrifying. The problem is that some are too afraid, even ashamed, to tell their parents or teachers, so most parents of victims either ignore the fact that their kid is going through hell every day or, worse, dismiss the gravity of the issue as a "typical school experience" they should "toughen up to." Needless to say that most parents of bullies have no idea their kids are causing others so much pain.
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The Back to School campaign was a perfect opportunity to generate awareness, and we decided to do it through shock. How? Showing parents and kids what stores would actually sell if bullying was normalized. We chose a high transit area of the mall and set up a pop-up store for a brand of "Bully-proof" schoolwear, "so your kid can go to school safe, even if bullied."
The items exhibited included a triple-lock lunchbox to prevent meal stealing, a punch-proof undergarment, a weight reduction vest, an insult-filtering smartphone app, sound-canceling earmuffs, and other disturbing gear.
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The shock wasn't the end goal but rather a call to action for parents, guardians, teachers, and students alike as we encouraged them all to download an app we created and through which victims and witnesses of bullying could anonymously report cases.
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The campaign also included an ad for digital platforms, billboards, and influencer marketing and got some of the most reputable newspapers talking.
Peru returns to the FIFA World Cup after 36 years
36 years is a long time. For many, including myself, the image of Peru in a World Cup had always been like an ancient myth from a time before we were born. Our World Cup players from the 70s and 80s were now seniors who'd seen decades go by with no one to replace their aging glory.
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But despite 36 years of failed attempts, every single time the elimination rounds for the next cup started, the dream ignited again. When chances became slimmer, out came the calculators, saints, and lucky charms to keep the faith burning unshakable until all odds of qualifying were gone. And they always were. That is until an unreal Wednesday night on November 15th, 2017.
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We faced New Zealand on our turf for the final chance to make it to Russia 2018, and after more than 90 minutes of excruciating emotions, the final whistle closed the game with a 2-0 victory for Peru. We had qualified for the World Cup.
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After 36 years of crushed dreams, it had finally happened, and the thrill left no Peruvian untouched. Soccer fans were in tears, but this was a historic event that moved the hearts even of those who'd never shown any interest in the sport. The country was overflowing with a mixture of joy and disbelief.
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To add to the drama, the star player and team captain Paolo Guerrero had been suspended by FIFA and couldn't play this crucial game. His long-time friend and teammate Jefferson Farfán scored the first goal and dedicated it to Guerrero by holding up his iconic Nº9 jersey as the stadium roared. By the end of the match, in the midst of crying players on the screen, the breaking voices of sports commentators, and the simultaneous cheering in every corner of the country, we knew a moment had been carved forever into Peruvian sports history and together with our client, the fantastic production house and a team of talented musicians, we set out to create a worthy tribute to it.
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Starring Paolo Guerrero and accompanied by a chill-inducing cover of "Contigo Aprendí" by Armando Manzanero, we made sure that every verse resonated with a particular moment in our turbulent and all-too-long journey of defeat, rage, faith, disappointment, and hope but above all unconditional support that led to a victorious day we'll never forget—a tearjerker for the ages.
When the brand is not the protagonist
TBWA\Peru supports a Women's Association called Mujer Valiente pro bono because of its significant mission. Mujer Valiente is the result of three women coming together and investing their own time and resources to create a center that trains female victims of violence on different skills so they can rebuild their lives independently, away from their abusive partners.
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BCP was our biggest client and when we were nearing International Women's Day, the country was undergoing a dreadful streak of femicides and domestic abuse cases. We considered releasing a heartfelt statement taking a clear stand on the matter but the truth is that there are other organizations helping violence victims in a much more practical way and they rarely have access to the resources a bank has. Organizations like Mujer Valiente.
We asked our client to put themselves second and sponsor these women's message. Given the gravity of the situation and the fact that most of the marketing executives were women, they unhesitantly agreed.
The result was this powerful video in which not only did the three founders get to say their part but many public figures including actors, singers, artists, writers and athletes contributed to reinforce the urgency of reshaping our behaviour as a society. And because they knew they were doing it for Mujer Valiente (and not for the bank) they didn't charge a penny. The savings that this meant were put into expanding the media guidelines giving the video more exposure, because when a message is this important, the brand should be proud to stay in the background.
A bank makes a music videoclip
Every summer BCP airs a commercial to strengthen its brand value and positioning as the bank that's "with you on your plans." This time, we obviously still wanted to be relevant during one of the most expected seasons of the year but didn't want to play the same cards.
We're a bank, not a beer. It's not like people love going to the bank in summer (or anytime, really). However, we do play a substantial role in the fun under the sun. After all, entertainment usually comes after you pay for it, right? But how could we show this in a digestible way that blended with the whole summery vibe? That's when it came to us: through music.
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Instead of an ad, we decided to sponsor a music video. After an arduous study of dozens of local bands, we chose an unreleased single by a talented Peruvian musician and co-created a full-length clip with him. The plot of the story served both to show off the beautiful scenery of the Peruvian coast and to place some of our most popular products, such as the Credimas debit card and Yape easy pay app, while at the same time promoting a catchy new song and helping local talent reach a larger audience... FOR FREE! The campaign also included geolocation ads, press, billboards, and a Spotify summer playlist featuring the promoted song and many others, all by Peruvian bands. A win for everyone.
The Life of Inés: A short animated film
BCP Bank was the official sponsor of Peruvian long-distance runner Inés Melchor and our client wanted to tell her life story. The initial idea was to film the whole thing but we faced two problems: the first (and usual) was budget related. Filming would mean we had to travel to Huancayo in the Peruvian Andes where Inés was born and to a bunch of other places to recreate past events. Not to mention all the actors and actresses we'd need to play Inés and all her family members at different ages. The second problem was that Inés, outstanding as she is on the track, is quite shy in front of a camera. The solution we came up with was this heartwarming animation that narrates the key events in Inés' life accompanied by an original score created especially for this video using only Peruvian instruments and inspired by the native sounds of Huancayo.
