Keith Cartwright, executive creative director of 72andSunny, was less than enamored with Burger King’s “Whopper Detour” when he first saw it. But ultimately it caused him to detour from his thinking, changed his perception and that’s why he personally singled out the work from FCB NY when reflecting on his recent AICP Next Awards judging experience.
At first “Whopper Detour” struck Cartwright as direct marketing that left a lot to be desired–intrusive, albeit creatively opportunistic. However, the marketplace impact was profound. “Whopper Detour” leads users to being within 600 feet of one of the 14,000 McDonald’s locations in the U.S. Once in that proximity to the Golden Arches, an ingenious app yields for consumers a deal for a 1-cent Whopper.
Cartwright described “Whopper Detour” as bringing together the social dynamic, direct marketing and data, infusing life into the mundane world of couponing.
Cartwright’s remarks came during a panel discussion on the first stop of the AICP Show tour last week in Culver City, Calif. His fellow panelists were Jeff Miller, global head of creative strategy at Snap Inc., and Kerstin Emhoff, president/co-founder of PRETTYBIRD. Emhoff and Miller served as presidents of this year’s Next Viral/Web Film and Augmented Reality juries, respectively. Matt Miller, AICP president and CEO, moderated the talk.
Reflecting on his Next judging experience, Jeff Miller cited Samsung Global’s “Samsung x Fortnite: The Galaxy Skin” from R/GA as work that left an indelible impression on him. Gamers could access Fortnite’s cool Galaxy Skin character only via the Samsung Galaxy Note 9 phone.
And Emhoff’s favorite was Corazon for Montefiore Hospital, directed by John Hillcoat of Serial Pictures for agency JohnXHannes. The emotionally moving feature is reportedly on the verge of widening its exposure via a deal with a major entertainment platform. And Emhoff feels the cinematic experience shows the storytelling power of branded fare, inching the industry closer to the holy grail of one day such content earning Oscar recognition.
While “Whopper Detour,” The Galaxy Skin and Corazon all earned Next honors, their impact was reflected in the Next discussion on a personal level. Cartwright, for example, said that “Whopper Detour” from Burger King “changed me as a creative leader,” spurring him to look “outside of the things” that normally got him excited–and to keep an open mind in order to reconsider the possibilities.
