Canada Dry Motts introduces a new drink called “Venom,” a vodka beverage with caffeine from green tea and guarana. They approached Zulu Alpha Kilo for a closer look at Millennials, their pre-drinking occasions, and their relationships with their friends. The resulting #SnakeyWakey campaign is a call to Millennials to rally their friends who are missing out and encourage them to seize the night.
A: 30 digital video launched online features an unconventional spokesperson draped in snakes. He suggests that if your friends are missing out on good times, the solution might be a little unconventional use of reptiles. Zulu has also built a unique Google Chrome extension that allows the target audience to prank their friends and “wake” them up – again with snakes. Once the extension is downloaded, casual internet use is interrupted by a web overlay with unexpected snakes, thumping audio, and Venom branding. The extension is triggered during hours that are typically associated with friends going out at night.
Carol-Anne Gower, Vice President, Marketing & Business Development at Canada Dry Mott’s went on to say, “with the video running on sites like The Chive, Funny or Die, BroBible and College Humour, we had to balance entertaining content with delivering the distinct visual identity of the brand. We know we have a great tasting product, so we really wanted to incite consumers to try it. We challenged Zulu to push the envelope to get Millennials’ attention, and they delivered.“
“We were inspired by a couple of things. The first was the Venom brand name and the unique bold packaging. The second was this consumer insight around the fear of missing out,” says Chief Creative Officer & Founder of Zulu Alpha Kilo, Zak Mroueh. “Our target told us there’s nothing worse than heading home early and waking up the next day to texts and SnapChats filled with stories of what their friends got up to. In every group of friends there’s always one person who bails or leaves early, but there’s usually also the friend who is a bit of a ringleader. We wanted to tap into that insight in a fun and provocative way.”
Of course, no real snakes were harmed in the making of the commercial. Fake snakes were used in the throwing sequences.
Creative Credits:
Agency: Zulu Alpha Kilo, Toronto, Canada
Chief Creative Officer: Zak Mroueh
Executive Creative Director: Allen Oke
ACD/Art Director: Catherine Allen
ACD/Writer: Ian Simpson
Broadcast Producer: Christine Pacheco
Digital Producer: Sam Leirsch
Lead Developer: Justo Tellez
Account Team: Kerry McKibbin, Maya Adler
Strategic Planning Team: Heidi Philip, Emma Brooks
Client (Company): Canada Dry Mott’s
Clients: Carol-Anne Gower, Susan Lemieux, Cameron Butt, Ryan Baraniuk
Production House: Touch Point
Director: Matt Eastman
Line Producer: Paul Fler
Director of Photography: Peter Hadfield
Casting Director: Shasta Lutz/Jigsaw casting
Post-Production: zulubot
Editor: Jay Baker
Audio: Jared Krumper