Is this campaign a case of digital agency vs. mass agency, of clients hungry for a UGC campaign or just really bad brand management by the marketing team? Whatever it is, it is wrong.
The 2010 wall mural is on it's own a decent thought. Not quite an idea and definitely not a campaign but it is a nice thought. Where the idea falls flat is that it was done by Molson Canadian who recently has launched a excellent spot (see below and following links) that continues it's long standing direction and takes me back to the days of "The Rant".
Now you ask so what is his problem with "The mural"? My problem is that is has nothing to do with the brand campaign. The unwritten code is the campaign and I know they could have done a dozen better campaigns that were integrated and supported the overall brand positioning.
As I always like to do I am going to open myself up and put out an idea (not a thought) that I feel would better deliver the brand and support the campaign.
What would I do?
So I have a feeling the client wanted to engage the country, capitalize on the Olympic sponsorship and of course continue to drive brand awareness and preference.
I would have asked Canada to help Molson Canadian write the code that all visitors to Canada should abide by while they are here for the Olympics. What can they do to truly experience the code of Canadians while they are here? Through this UGC campaign site visitors would submit and vote on the code of Canada that will allow Olympic tourists to discover more than soapstone carvings, maple syrup, poutine, snow, sleds, igloos and polar bears. This UGC created and user voted code could be handed to visitors as they exit planes at YVR, through-out the city then through street teams, installations and booths through-out the city tourists can have experience the code like curving a stick with a torch, jerseying a guy, using your arm as an ice scraper, tying boots with mittens on.... you get the idea.
Is this an amazing idea? Maybe not but it supports the brand, extends the campaign to the digital space, capatilizes on the Olympics in a truly Canadian way and is way better than the 2010 Wall Mural campaign. Which by the way they didn't even buy the URL 2010wallmural.ca or.com... no they made it extremely difficult to find it. Seriously search 2010 wall mural on Google. Nothing on the first two pages, no SEM no unique URL purchases...nothing at all. I am not even linking to it so good luck finding it.
