by Oresti Patricios (@orestaki) Get ready for an overload of cuteness in this week’s Ad of the Week, which is all about the Johannesburg Zoo’s “Night Tour Shadows” activation. The project is the brainchild of Y&R South Africa, Johannesburg, and it is full of imagination, engagement and fun.
I don’t know if kids still do this, but I remember having great fun at night using a torch to create shadows of animals and other things on the wall. This was probably the inspiration for Y&R Johannesburg’s poster campaign to publicise Johannesburg Z0o’s Night Tours.
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The amazing creatives at Y&R produced four posters, but instead of printing them with pictures, the posters were pure white, and die-cut with cleverly-designed shapes. These posters were delivered to schools and groups that cater to children.
When the kids got the posters they were blank but, by folding out the cut-out shapes — by raising these vertical to the poster, the kids were well on the way to decoding the message sent to them. The kids were then instructed to put the posters on a wall.
In normal light, the shapes have no meaning — or it’s difficult to decode what the shapes are. Yet by darkening the room and shining a torch from below the poster, magic happens. The shadows cast by the popped-out shapes combine to form the shapes of four nocturnal animals — an eagle owl, a wild dog, a red panda and a lion. At the bottom of each poster is the website address (jhbzoo.org.za), and right there on the front page of the site is information about the special programs: sunset tours, moonlight tours and night tours.
According to the video produced by the agency, this activation resulted in a 140% increase in bookings for the zoo. Not surprising as this is such an engaging activation.
The greatest strength of this campaign is its interactivity. These aren’t just posters; they are games that are engaging and enticing — it’s easy to see how youngsters are drawn to the magic of revealing the animals hidden in the shadows. Of course, the symbolism of finding things in the dark is not lost; it’s a perfect analogy for the after-dark tours.
Very smart and inventive — a bright idea, well executed by Y&R Johannesburg. The sweet spot of this campaign, of course, is the very real returns it has yielded for the Johannesburg Zoo.
Salute! May the zoo’s night time tours grow from strength to strength.
Advertising agency: Y&R South Africa
Chief creative officer: Graham Lang
Creative directors: Bibi Lötter, Jacques Shalom
Art directors: Jac Sun, Francois Botes, Leon Curling-Hope
Copywriter: Jason Murison
Executive creative director: Rui Alves
Designers: Jac Sun, Francois Botes
Typographer: Francois Botes
Illustrator: Francois Botes
Agency producer: Sonja Reichwein
Production company: Burley Boys
Executive producer: Daryl Burley
Editor: Hofmeyr Smit
Ad of the Week, published on MarkLives every Wednesday, is penned by Oresti Patricios (@orestaki), the CEO of Ornico, a Brand Intelligence® firm that focuses on media, reputation and brand research.
If you are involved in making advertising
that is smart, funny and/or engaging,
please let Oresti know about it at info@ornicogroup.co.za.
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