2021 Winner

CASE SUMMARY

Objective & Challenge

McCain is Canada’s leading brand of fries. However, their top spot is under threat due to sluggish growth and losing share to their biggest competitor. To drive sales, McCain needed to do something they have never done before – connect with Gen Z and recruit them into the category.

Gen Z has the lowest attention span, they are infamous for skipping ads, and they haven’t bought McCain (or any other) frozen fries before. So, the challenge was to engage with this elusive audience.

Insights & Strategy

The insight for the campaign was inspired by a universal love for fries. They are always an undeniable hit and make any meal or moment better. This insight is what fueled the brand’s creative platform – “That’s Golden.”

Research found Gen Z are extremely ad averse - 82% skip ads as fast as possible and nearly 70% physically distract themselves while an ad is playing. But, they are also one of the biggest video watchers. Nearly 70% of Gen Z watch more than three hours of mobile video a day.

So, the brand decided to flip the script on one of Gen Z’s most hated ad formats – YouTube pre-roll ads – by creating a surprising and entertaining twist to connect with them. “The Golden Oven”, the brand’s YouTube-first campaign, took hated pre-roll ads and turned them into pre-roll lottery tickets. This was the first ever campaign where you could win simply by watching an ad.

Execution

The Golden Oven pre-roll videos came in different lengths ranging from two to 10 minutes. The contest rewarded viewers who interacted and stuck around for the fries to be ready. If a viewer were lucky enough to be served a winning ad and the “Golden Oven” ding-ed, they could win the golden thing inside: a plate of golden fries, a golden hoverboard, a Golden Retriever statue, or maybe gold-trimmed headphones.

To make sure the brand reached them at the right place and the right time, the pre-roll ads were served on videos that were rooted in top Gen Z interests and behaviours. The golden gifts were also designed to match Gen Z sensibilities to ensure it kept them engaged.

Results

The campaign was highly successful in reaching this elusive audience. It was able to reach 77% of the Gen Z target. Also, Gen Z is known to skip ads at the first chance they get, this campaign got over 14 million views and 50 million campaign impressions. The contest resulted in over 2,000 Golden prizes being won – more than quadruple the amount that was originally planned.

The videos were so effective that while Gen Z attention span is only 8 seconds, the brand was able to hold it for 64 seconds, an exponential increase of 700%. And while YouTube’s Engagement benchmark is 20% completion for :30 ads, our two, five, and 10-minute videos had a 25% completion rate, for an increase of 25%. Finally, the audience not only watched the sizzling fries in the Golden Oven, but they also generated over 953,000 engagements.

Credits

Client: McCain
VP Marketing: Bryan McCourt
Marketing Director: Michael Embir
Sr. Manager Integrated Marketing: Lisa Pozhke
Sr. Brand Manager: David Roy
Brand Manager: Laura Kennedy
Associate Brand Manager: Davis Campbell
Associate Manager, Social Media: Matt Higgs
Creative Agency: FCB
Chief Creative Officer: Nancy Crimi-Lamanna
Chief Creative Officer: Jeff Hilts
Associate Creative Director: Marty Hoefkes
Associate Creative Director: Michael Morrelli
VP, Managing Director: Ricky Jacobs
VP, Group Account Director: Ravi Singh
Account Supervisor: Chris Flynn
Broadcast Producer: Carol Boate
Sr Project Manager: Kendra Plantt
Project Manager: Sadaf Ghandehari
Chief Strategy Officer: Shelley Brown
Sr. Planner: Malav Naik
Media Company: UM Canada
Production Company: Fuelcontent
Executive Producer: Stef Fabich
Editing House: Fuelcontent
Editors: Jonathan Garofalo and Vanessa Di Staulo
Online Facility: Fuelcontent
After Effects: Jonathan Garofalo and Vanessa Di Staulo
CG Oven: Alter Ego
CG Fries: Michael Fellini
Web Developer: Promotional Solutions
Contest Facilitator: Promotional Solutions