Persil hoaxes gamers with fake trailer for real-life game Tag
The Drum’s Ad of the Day highlights work that stands head and shoulders above the rest. Today’s winner is Persil’s Hoax campaign by LOLA MullenLowe.
The fake trailer emulates those of high-profile games such as Dead by Daylight
Persil is encouraging young audiences to touch grass in a new campaign via an elaborate hoax with top gaming influencers.
Aping the language of game trailers and the hype that surrounds the announcement of a new game, the campaign relied on the creation of a fake game trailer for the real-life game Tag.
That fake marketing material was sent out to six handpicked influencers, with a combined reach of 10.2 million across platforms including Twitch.
The conceit was that the streamers created interest in the new trailer, only for the real message to be shown at the end as the ‘game’ was revealed to be exclusive to real life.
Tati Lindenberg is marketing vice-president at Unilever and handles Persil’s ‘Dirt Is Good’ platform. She said: “For over 20 years, Persil’s ‘Dirt Is Good’ has championed the enduring belief that when children are free to get dirty, they can reach their full potential and that stains are a mark of a life fully lived.
“So, when we realized that more and more children are losing touch with the outdoors and the natural world, we wanted to do something to get them excited to get outside and get dirty again. In order to do this in a way that effectively spoke to our audience, we took the decision to harness the power of the gaming world, rather than fight against it.”
According to research from Persil and the Dirt is Good Project, over half (57%) of parents feel that lack of time spent playing outside means their children have no connection with nature or the great outdoors.
The campaign features across TV, out-of-home (OOH), digital out-of-home (DOOH), paid and organic social, as well as influencer channels and earned media. The initial trailer used much of the language of current game trailers, initially appearing to be a multiplayer survival action game along the lines of the popular game Dead By Daylight. It also employed a track from the artist Woodkid, who has been a popular choice for real game trailers for years.
The campaign was created by Madrid-based agency LOLA MullenLowe. Its executive creative director Tomas Ostiglia explained: “Creating something that delivered the brand’s core messaging while being convincing and authentic for the gaming community was a challenging process. So, what better than to use the language of online gaming itself as a way to persuade kids to spend less time gaming, and more time playing outside?”
The video used the Unreal 5 game engine, which its maker Epic Games is currently attempting to position as a marketing solution as much as a gaming tool.
