The Brief
Get parents of young families who want to strike the right balance between making responsible choices and providing moments of joy to buy Robinsons by communicating the core product benefit – refreshment.
The Insight
The brand had spent years virtue signalling by talking about nothing but fruit. But you don’t drink squash to get your five a day. You drink squash because when you’re really thirsty, there’s nothing more refreshing.
The Execution
We made thirst a virtue, giving Robinsons a clear role in living a joyful active life.
I pointed to academic research showing that refreshment is negatively correlated with sweetness and thickness and worked closely with the Saatchi Conceptual Design department to develop a ‘thirsty brand world’.
The use of colour gradients and the introduction of water droplets to the design system stemmed from this thinking.
The Results
The OOH assets were an enormous step forward for Robinsons in terms of behaving like a confident modern brand.
We were told at both the qual and quant testing phases that a gargling choir would be a polarising idea and that’s exactly how it played out. Those who didn’t like it said that gargling was disgusting and immature. Those who did like it said it was a hilarious burst of joy and colour at a time when we could all use a break from the stagflation gloom.
Love it or hate it, the ad was impossible to ignore. Campaign Magazine clearly fell into the latter camp and brought Turkey Of The Week out of retirement especially to pan the film. This is a badge of honour I wear with pride.
