Last week I submitted that Coke had gotten social content sharing wrong with its ‘Wearable Movie’. I stand by that, especially the more I hear people’s lacklustre reaction to it.
Less than a week later, Wrigley product Extra is front and centre for this campaign: ‘The Proposal’, or, help a consumer propose to his girlfriend.
The narrative is compelling – the consumer (Sang) contacted the brand and explained his plan to propose based on his original method of asking out his girlfriend: on the back of a piece of Extra wrapping. So what follows is a series of videos revealing what Wrigley did to help the guy propose.
Now, I’m privy to those who worked behind the scenes of this execution and can tell you it was a legit request from an ACTUAL consumer.
But the question many will be asking is: why does this work when Coke’s attempt failed?
The answer is simple: it is real.
Yes, Coke’s ‘Wearable Movie’ was ‘real’ in the sense actual employees and fans were involved, but its concept of ‘rewarding’ staff by making them the star of a weird animated film that focuses on how delicious its product is, was just warped. It didn’t focus much on the employees or fans themselves and what roles they play. It had no HUMAN narrative.
And this is where Wrigley has demonstrated its radness. It was given an opportunity to help ONE CONSUMER. By helping that one guy, the brand has endeared itself to everyone.
One of the most important aspects of why this campaign works is because company branding is deliberately allocated a back seat: Wrigley is saying ‘This idea isn’t about us, it’s about you’. The company doesn’t need to surreptitiously add logos or background posters – the use of the wrappers subtly reveals enough.
And, to draw the suspense out further (we all love a bit of suspense), the narrative is broken up into segments (not too many thankfully – we only have short attention spans in social media world). It allows the audience to build a rapport with the characters, to place themselves at the heart of the romance. While it may resonate more with the romantics in the crowd, others will appreciate the effort.
If Wrigley really wanted to it could run with the narrative and make this a central theme to a longer-term campaign focused on romance – gum proposals! This shows the life a solid narrative can have.
In the end, what Wrigley has done well is actually, and publicly, helped a consumer achieve what they wanted.
Not a bad situation for a brand to associate itself with.
UPDATE: Here’s the second part of ‘The Proposal’. It is a little stunted and awkward but that makes it all the more genuine. Enjoy.
AVM Consulting 