2020 Winner

CASE SUMMARY

Challenges and Goals:

Snickers had been an official partner of the NBA’s Toronto Raptors for three years, but with phenomenal popularity of both the NBA and the Toronto Raptors, it was becoming harder to stand out in a sea of sponsors. The brand needed to connect with Raptors fans and show them that it loved basketball culture as much as they did. But on top of that, Snickers needed to prove that it wasn’t just another logo popping up during the game.

Insights and Strategy:
The idea was to be the first brand to “hijack” the NBA tunnel walk. In recent years the tunnel walk has become a source of endless content and commentary as players enter the arena and are photographed walking to the locker room sporting the latest fashion.

Using Snickers’ iconic “You’re Not You When You’re Hungry” platform, the agency outfitted Toronto Raptor Delon Wright in an outrageously oversized suit. Following the game, Delon would then reveal that the suit was an unfortunate consequence of a hunger-induced style lapse and, after eating a Snickers, he was now back to himself.

Execution:
The execution came to life in two phases – “The Set-Up” and “The Reveal.”
“The Set-Up” kicked off just before game time when the Raptors posted a picture of Delon walking the tunnel in his oversized suit on its official Instagram and Twitter accounts. Fans across the country immediately began liking, commenting and reposting the photo. Within the hour, dozens of memes were posted and several sports media outlets had responded. Adding fuel to the fire, during the broadcast of the game, Raptors commentators questioned Delon’s fashion choice over a video of his tunnel walk.

Basketball fans remained baffled until “The Reveal” the following day. The Raptors, Delon and Snickers all posted promoted videos to their official Instagram and Twitter accounts, revealing that the fashion faux pas was in fact a hunger mistake and after eating a Snickers, Delon was back to himself.

Results:
The campaign generated 1.5 million unique engagements. Within hours of posting the first photo, it was a National Trending Topic on Twitter. Dozens of fan-generated memes were created and even NBA all-stars like Dwayne Wade and Kevin Durant engaged with the campaign.

The story was picked up by every major Canadian sports media outlet including Sports Illustrated, Sportsnet, TSN, ESPN and Bleacher Report. In the first 24 hours alone, the campaign generated 23 million earned impressions.

The stunt not only proved that you’re not yourself when you’re hungry, it also earned Snickers a place in the hearts and social feeds of Canadian basketball fans.

Credits

Creative Agency: BBDO Toronto
Chief Creative Officer: Denise Rossetto, Todd Mackie
VP, Associated Creative Director: Derek Blais
Associated Creative Director: Rana Chatterjee, Jeff Cheung
Copywriter: London Choi
VP, Group Account Director: Stephanie Page
Account Director: Stephanie Martins
Account Supervisor: Sydney Starke
VP, Planning: Tom Kenny
Digital Strategist: Courtney Dionne
Editor: Jeremy Sedge
Music & Sound: Mike Rosnick

Production: Flare BBDO
Executive Producer: Dave Lembke
Producer: Paul Fler
DOP: TJ Derry

Client: Mars Wrigley Canada
Diana Frost: VP Marketing
Kurtis Wong: Brand Manager
Michelle Lefler: Director, Corporate Affairs

Media Agency: MediaCom
Brian Keefe: Partnerships Manager
Amanda Hill: Associate Director
Erin Edwards: Account Director
Stephanie Landicho: Account Manager
Maria Lee: Media Executive

Social Media: FleishmanHillard HighRoad
Adrienne Connell: Senior Vice President & Partner
Lauren Grant: Vice President
Jesica Mikkila: Account Coordinator
Christian Ferreira: Account Coordinator
Brad Farndon: Intern
Miranda Nero: Account Executive

Partnership: MLSE
Andrew Hardaker: Manager Global Partnerships, MLSE
Morgan Todd: Strategist, Global Partnerships, MLSE
Graham Latchford: Digital Supervisor, MLSE