“The real tragedy of life these days is not that it ends so soon, but that we rarely take the time out to live it fully,” comments Patrick Robertson, Joint Managing and Creative Director of boutique advertising agency, Da Vinci Edison Bell. As the brand custodian of the 1time holidays brand, Da Vinci Edison Bell has used death as the controversial premise behind its ‘Life is Short. Go on holiday’ brand awareness campaign for the independent low-fare holiday brand, underpinned by its mother brand – 1time Airline.
To encourage consumers to book their vacation packages with 1time holidays and embrace life every day, Da Vinci Edison Bell and 1time have brought to market the tongue-in-cheek campaign which takes a lighter look at fascinatingly funny ‘death’ facts. These include how many people actually die each year from bizarre incidents such as choking on toothpicks, peas, or overdosing on sugar. Tweaking the nose of death, the creative frankly emphasises that life is short, take time out with 1time holidays and go on holiday while you can.
Showcasing headlines such as ‘Chocolate is to die for’ and ‘Dying to go on holiday’, the campaign bluntly reminds consumers how important it is to get the most out of living. Angela Collins, Joint Managing and Creative Director at Da Vinci Edison Bell, explains: “We pride ourselves on producing brave and irreverent work which delivers on client objectives. We believe that the tactical approach of using humour to drive home the importance of making the most of life portrays exactly this philosophy." Robertson adds, "All the campaign elements are unconventional, we’re sure that they will create a stir."
Anya Potgieter, Marketing Manager at 1time, comments: “The basis of the campaign is to make consumers celebrate the gift of life by making time to stop and enjoy it. All too often we’re so busy that we don’t stop to appreciate life, and it literally just passes us by. How many times have you yourself said ‘Life is short’ or heard someone else comment on how short life is? Do something about it. Make life long and live a little.”
Niki Cassapis, MD of Maverick Media, explains: “When we were awarded the activation contract for this campaign, I was thrilled at the unconventional means of getting the message across and couldn’t wait to get started. Maverick Media has implemented many successful activations in the past however making this project become a reality - especially dealing with undertakers and sourcing coffins, was somewhat different. I’ve been left with many enlightening stories to share! Nonetheless, we have tagged every toe and have polished every hearse to make this national campaign a success. Maverick Media thrive on activations of this nature.”
The Life is Short campaign kicked off on Friday with a teaser campaign, which dispatched hearses branded with the strap line ‘Life is Short’, to park outside Primedia Broadcasting to create intrigue. A coffin branded with ‘Life is Short’ was also delivered to the 5FM studios, to stop radio jocks in their tracks. During the course of the day the 1time holidays campaign clip, featuring a hamster running on a wheel and then ‘dying’, was sent to the drive time DJ’s to continue the tease.
During the three week reveal campaign, the 1time holidays hearses take to the streets of Joburg, Durban and Cape Town, being parked at strategic junctions in each city, while a radio campaign breaks on
94.7 Highveld Stereo,
East Coast Radio and
Heart FM encouraging consumers to spot the hearse. Once consumers have the hearses in sight they can SMS the advertised competition number and stand a chance of winning a trip for four to Zanzibar.
Simultaneously, a Life is Short emailer goes viral to 1time’s database of 1.8-million consumers while the platforms of webmail, Facebook, radio and tactical outdoor and print elements go live.
“Through the multi-faceted and dead cheeky campaign we anticipate achieving awareness and talkability, ultimately increasing sales for 1time holidays and of course buttressing the 1time airline mother brand.
With the Life is Short campaign, what adds value for 1 time holidays from a concept point of view, is that over and above the awareness that the campaign will create, the combination of response elements of either an SMS or click through to the Consumer Protector Act compliant microsite – www.lifeissshort.co.za we’re able to quantifiably gauge response and ROI,” concludes Potgieter.
For more information on 1time holidays and 1time, visit
www.1timeholidays.co.za and
www.1time.co.za and for more information on Da Vinci Edison Bell, visit
www.davinciedisonbell.co.za.
Link to hamster TVC and viral campaign:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5UTMmQNooIk