At FriendsofBright.com, people seeking a gleaming white smile have found a place where they will fit in perfectly. Creatives at EVB, San Francisco, have developed a Web site for Orbit White where people can learn about the power of the gum to change their lives.
When you arrive on the site, a character named Rob Anthony greets you dressed in white from head to toe and invites you to “Step into the Bright.” He explains the paths you can take on the site: to a tent on the right side of the page to learn more about Orbit White or to the sing along to the left.
In the tent, the recognizable face of Orbit, Lydia, stands in front of several people and beside a screen. Once you decide whether you would like to watch the slide show or the video, the show begins. If you start with the video, you will find Rob Anthony talking about his awakening to the power of Orbit White. Then two enthusiastic converts explain how the product has cleaned up their appearances. After the movie, Lydia will talk you through the slideshow and explain the finer points of this chewing gum. Then she suggests you head over to the sing along.
At the sing along, a guitar player and a singer entertain five people seated in a circle with a folk song titled “Smile On.” Then, if you like the song, you can download it as an mp3 or as a ringtone.
SHINY, HAPPY PEOPLE
Executive creative director Jason Zada said the site is “very much about the celebration of having white teeth,” but the real message the shop is sending is that the product can reduce 40 percent of stains on teeth. People can be skeptical about such claims and need a little bit of convincing, Zada noted. He and the other creatives wanted to find a funny way to educate people on the matter.
The characters on this site all dress in white and have blinding smiles and silly personalities. Some of Anthony’s quotes include, “If you can’t dazzle them with brilliance, dazzle them with your smile,” and, “A dim brain is understandable, but a dim smile is unforgivable.”
Senior copywriter Alexandra Tyler said she took cues from the obsessive tendencies of people today; for example, people who are devoted to working out as much as possible or those who are fanatical about their hygiene and having white teeth.
Through research, Tyler said she found that for this target audience of 18-34 year olds, having a clean mouth is a top priority. That mindset lent itself to the concept on the site of a group of zealots who are devoted to bright smiles and who also spread the word to increase their membership, she explained.
Though the site does include Lydia, the rest of the site is completely original. “We wanted [the site] to be its own entity but also still really play off of what everyone liked about Orbit so much, that it is pretty stylish and very quirky and unexpected. So we wanted to keep with that brand feeling,” Tyler shared.
Other features of the site are “Becoming a Believer” and “Meet the Enlightened.” To join this group, you are asked to sign a pledge that you will uphold the core values of the organization, Friends of Bright, and you can upload a picture for a “Smile Identification Photo.” When you meet the enlightened, you are asked to spread the word and “Enlighten a Friend.”
Zada explained that if you do forward this to a friend, when Rob welcomes him to the site, your image will appear on the home page and Rob will reference you in his welcoming remarks.
Overall, the site has enough interactive entertainment to hold one’s attention for a while. “If you do go through every single section of the site and watch everything and spend time with it, there’s over eighteen minutes of video on the site so you’re spending a good eighteen to, with all the loads, probably twenty plus minutes with the site,” Zada estimates.
Word of mouth is the primary method of driving traffic to the site. However, a spot out of BBDO Energy Chicago, “Side Mirror,” which Filip Engstrom directed, has the URL in it. Banner ads are also appearing online.
