2021 MUSIC+SOUND AWARDS

BEST SYNC IN BROADCAST ADVERTISING

Extra Gum ‘For When It’s Time’

Entrant: Energy BBDO, Chicago

Track: ‘It’s All Coming Back To Me Now’ Celine Dion

Music Supervisors: Machine Sound

Executive Director of Music: Daniel Kuypers

Read what Energy BBDO had to say about the project and see why the jury voted it THE BEST…

BACKGROUND

People rarely think about gum deliberately. It’s an impulse category, so naturally we live by being in the right place at the right time. You know, right there at the counter before you go to work, school or on that first date. Those times you may be getting a little close and personal.

So, when COVID arrived, it’s safe to say our consumers almost forgot us entirely. No school, no work, no dates and definitely no hugs or first kisses. Even shopping trips were fewer and conducted as quickly as possible. Sales declined on a global scale.

To save the category, we needed to get gum back into the hearts and minds of people in a big way. We needed to bring back those emotional moments of human connection we used to help them with. We needed to remind them of all the places they once enjoyed us.

THE CREATIVE IDEA

While the pandemic was the source of our strife, we recognized it could also be the source of our comeback. In the not-too-distant future, people around the world will be re-entering society in a big way.

Enter our film for Extra, where we dramatized just how joyous our return to the world could be. How great it will feel to finally squeeze into a pair of jeans, freshen up with a stick of gum and take to the streets—awkwardly hugging, kissing and socializing until our collective hearts’ are content.

With one film, we managed to tap into a massive cultural moment that not only reminded millions of people why they need gum, but also made us the only gum they’re thinking about as they get back out there.

STRATEGY

If routines and habits had changed in response to the pandemic, surely they would change again as we came out the other side. With vaccine rollouts on the horizon and discussion of easing restrictions around the globe, we knew we’d only get one shot to make sure gum would be part of the zeitgeist as people began to define their new normal.

Each market would be on their own timeline, so we knew we needed to be ready to launch in whichever market was ready first, with the others quick to follow. Our criteria for launch were dictated by the community’s anticipation of easing social restrictions and increased social mobility. For example, in the UK, this meant the opening of venues and increased gathering sizes and in the US, easing mask mandates and larger events.

THE SONG

We couldn’t have found a more perfect song than “It’s All Coming Back To Me Now” by Celine Dion.

It’s epic, celebratory and the music ebbs and flows perfectly to complement the narrative of the film, swelling during high action sequences to wring out every joyful drop of emotion.

Meanwhile, the lyrics reinforced the idea of getting back out there and punctuated every triumphant moment, from our toilet paper guy breaking open his door to our mom peeling out of the driveway to our horde of people making out in the park. Sometimes there is a song that captures the moment so poignantly that you just need to get out of the way and let it do its thing. “It’s All Coming Back To Me Now,” is one of those tracks, even its title is serendipitously perfect for our coming back story.

EXECUTION

The launch of our global film needed to feel as massive as the movement we were trying to tap into. We bought placement in key markets around the globe. Markets where vaccines were rolling out and where people were starting to see the light at the end of a very long tunnel, including the UK, US, France and Germany.

Timing was also critical. Launch too soon and you risk alienating an audience still in the throes of the pandemic, but launch too late and we risk missing our window for relevancy.

We ran our film across various digital and social channels to start and sent the long-form version of our film to numerous PR outlets. Within a week of launch, our film had gone viral and started to gain the buzz we were hoping it would.

OUTCOME

We set out to get people to care about us again, and to think about when they might use us once again.

It’s early days, but already the world is paying attention to a humble little stick of freshness. In just a week since launch:

• 250MM impressions from earned media coverage

• Over 500MM campaign impressions

• 95% positive sentiment for campaign mentions

• After 2MM+ views, our 2.5” film has retained an average view time of 1:52

Make people feel something? We hit a nerve, with the comments flooding in: “the ad we didn’t know we needed” or “made me cry and laugh at the same time”.

Re-establish gum usage? Our viewers recited back to us their favorite gum moments, whether they be awaiting their stranger make out session or just dying to go back to the office.

People are coming back, and so is gum.

Full Credits:

BEST SYNC IN BROADCAST ADVERTISING

Extra Gum ‘For When It’s Time’

Entrant: Energy BBDO, Chicago

Track: ‘It’s All Coming Back To Me Now’ Celine Dion

Music Supervisors: Machine Sound

Audio Engineer: Terressa Tate at Machine Sound

Assistant Audio Engineer: Amanda Fuentes at Machine Sound

Producers: Sara Gbadamosi + Michele Maples at Machine Sound

Account Director: Lauren Randall

Executive Director of Music: Daniel Kuypers

Music Business Coordinator: Karolina Barej

Producer: Annie Burger

Chief Creative Officers: Josh Gross + Pedro Pérez

Executive Creative Director: Kenny Blumenschein

Creative Directors: Lucas Owens, Monique Kaplan, Colin O’Toole + Hansel Quintela