George Patterson Y&R proves ‘It’s No Picnic’ creating hundreds of TV commercials for Cadbury
EXCLUSIVE – A Picnic bar is nutty, chewy and a challenge to eat, so for its first new campaign, in nearly six years, which launches this Sunday, George Patterson Y&R, Melbourne put it to the public to see how they’d go eating one in the space of an ad break (30 seconds) filming themselves using mobile phones, handycams and webcams.
The fully-integrated campaign, which launches Sunday, directs people to www.itsnopicnic.tvwhere they can build their own television commercial. The websiteallows them to upload their film (or record themselves using webcam),edit their footage, choose one of 50 pre-recorded Voice Overs andpersonalise it by including their name, of which around 1,400individual names were recorded. Once finished they submit their ad forapproval, with the best ones being selected and aired on nationaltelevision.
In an Australian-first media buy through Carat,the approved commercials are dispatched as they’re created, with everyad airing once only – allowing a campaign of hundreds of individualspots.
The creator of the selected commercial is contactedinforming them of the channel, program and time their ad is scheduledto be aired, allowing them to spread the word through email, Facebookand Twitter.
Says Erin Blackman, Cadbury Brand Manager: “It’s the unique combinationof ingredients that makes Picnic unlike any other bar on the market andthis new interactive campaign is designed to allow people to have funwith the brand in an equally unique way.”
Adds newly appointed Patts Co-CDs Jim Ingram and Ben Couzens: “It’skinda scary producing a campaign of this scale with literally nodirector, no editor, no grade and no music. But it’s up and running andso far so good…”.
A pre-launch version of the site was made available to Cadbury/agencyfriends to get the ball rolling, with the public site going live onSunday February 7. The campaign will roll out over the next 8 weeks, sogive it a crack yourself. Who knows, we might see some ad agency folks on TVsoon.
ECD: Ben Coulson
Art Director/CD: Ben Couzens
Writer/CD: Jim Ingram
Agency Producer: Romanca Jasinski
Digital Art Director: Stephen Joss
Digital Producer: Carrie Burman
Digital Developer: Beau Rushton
Flash Developer: Jadon Baker
Group Account Director: Mike Napolitano
Account Manager: Alice Mason
Head of Planning: Kate Smither
Head of Digital Strategy: Luc Wiesman
90 Comments
How tiring this whole atl-agencies-dive-into-experiential is becoming. Like everything these multinational corporations masquerading as boutiques attempt, the temptation to apply a tried and tested channel planning formula is beginning to stifle real creativity. Community participation on webcams/phones? Check. Individual interactions aggregated on a central website? Check. Networked via social media? Check. Listen guys, if you are a big agency with big client and a big budget why waste your time and ours trying to do something like this? The public will sniff it out as a fraud, you will lose the respect of your contemporaries and, most importantly, miss the chance to spend all of that lovely big budget producing a brilliant TV ad that everyone will talk about, your mum and dad will be proud of you for and nostalgic TV shows 20 years hence will hold up as an example of why things were better back in 2010. Give us an Aussie Gorilla we can be proud of, not a Best Chocolate Bar in the World.
that’s great. very funny. love it.
i know it’s the same ‘make your own tv commercial’ genre but this is a really fresh take on it.
Hey Peter, these guys have already given the world a “cadbury gorilla” in the form of schweppes burst. Check. They have now also done something completely different. I really like it. Well done Jim and cuz.
Frank. Fail.
I wish I had thought of that.
Peter go and write some decent ads and stop wasting your time writing crap on this blog. Great job Jim and Cuz
Hey Alex, didn’t someone on youtube give us the burst way before Patts?
Anyhoo, love the use of media, but I doubt the ads themselves will be anything that brilliant. Sure as hell won’t make me go buy a Snickers.
The idea is brilliant, even without the web do it yourself bit. Home made ads of people trying to eat a picnic in an ad break. It can’t be done, and it’s a perfect product demonstration. I also love the modern tech angle, yes people will
try it and will get on tv, but it’s an awesome advertising idea, first and foremost!
Well done Coulson and team, I’m very jeolous, again!!!!
Ok, hats off to very smart folk! I don’t like to congratulate the business much, but this is simple, stunning and funny. It will make great cut through tv. It will be lots of fun for consumers. It will sell thousands of chocolate bars, just with people wanting tomget involved in the ad campaign. A brilliant example of what our business is meant to do, break new ground, excite and involve consumers, be relevent and simple. And be entertaing.
This is one of the big ones for the year, no doubt.
I’m humbled, I wish I had done it.
Well done to patts again. They seem to have the knack of not making work until they Land the big ones. This is awesome and cadury need to be congratulated for going with patts on the journey. Like schweppes, and fosters before them, cadbury are now about to become a celebrated adveristimg company! Who would have thought??!!
Congrat where it is due.
Outstanding!
This will be a huge hit. If boags was last years big winner, I hope this one is this years.
It is band on brief, true to the product, plays by all the client rules and smashes all the current ad industry creative rules!
I love the tag line, it’s no picnic. Perfect!
Truely, well done. Our business is still cool some times!
Oh shit. That is the first big winner of 2010!!
Bugger, I nearly had a nice little ad with a cute pun approved!
I hate saying it, but it’s very good.
Well done patts, again.
Ok, I’m in!!
I am going to be the first ad dude on the telly scoffing one!
Love it guys, very nice work. Hope it pays in gold for ya’s!!!
annoying and boring.
i hope social media chokes on its own excrement.
Make sure you get your people on the blog to talk up a rubbish formulaic idea and flame anyone who dares to criticize it? Check
I can’t help but think Patts people have written some of these posts as they are all glowing, but sadly, i do agree with most of them. it shits me to say, but i like it. the line is perfect, one that’s been waiting to be written. as an ex-pat (not ex-patt) in singapore, i think this is the way we all should be creating. good job by all, will watch with interest.
Not sure why you lot are getting your knickers in a twist.
It’s a piece of average and perfectly harmless client driven work that assumes people are interested in what other people think about the product eating experience.
It is a well worn, tried and tested formula.
Topped off with the cliched use of the product name in the ‘endline’ seems to tick all the analogue agency boxes.
Fair dinkum from the boys down under.
However, probably not worth booking flights to Cannes.
I don’t mind it. It’s fun.
But what would I know, I work in advertising.
Sorry blog hacks, but when it is good. Even most ad people are happy about it. We need more like these for our business to clense itself of hacks like 10.41pm.
Congrats to Cadbury Australia!
Younhave just broken a 40 year drought of cut through, funny and modern advertising. I spent 4 years working for cadbury at Mojo and Whybin. It was the bakst case client at both agencies. I made far too many formulaic, stupid ‘comfectionary’ ads. Big bigeye, no ideas, lots of rules. people ran miles to avoid watching them.
This brave, simple, and bang on brief campaign, is the antidote for all those poor confectionary ads Australians have suffered for years. It will drive consumers to want to be part of it, just by the power of the challange and the fin of giving it a go. It is a great example of a modern ‘participlation’ idea, that unlikemany of the other ones that are all submission film hype, delivers to the brands strengh and is a great product demonstration, bus the very cadbury want to eat the bar.
It’s no picnic, breaks the tyred old mould for cadbury and should make the folk at Snickers think hard about their American mr T ‘ad’ campaign!
I applaud the team who held their nerve at cadbury long enought to break all their own rules. It will payndividends big time.
While I’m at it, well done again to patts melb for creative yet another real and very creative idea, for yet another client we all would have prefered not to work on!
Hats off to you!
Coulson ya pretty boy, stop doing such good stuff. You’ve got enough. Save some trophies for us!! And tell Jim and Cuz that fame only makes them
gayer, in a cute way!!!
Strike 3 for The Fosters decision to fire Patts. First Schweppes, AFL, and now even Cadbury are making cutting edge creative work. You really did stuff up when you PR’d on this blog that Patts nolonger had the creative product you expected.
And yes, like Frank in one of the ads, I was one of the people who lost my job at Patts when Fosters left, so it takes a bit for me to compliment their work. But, this will be a very good campaign.
A bag of bronze, perhaps.
I just naught my first picnic bar in 10 years, just had a go on my iPhone. 1 minute and 24 seconds top to bottom. That little chic in the black jacket is a lot more orally advancedthan me. Picnic still tasted exactly the same. A really weird choc bar!!
There is a voce overoption that pays out on bloodnuts! Genious!!
Tidy, simple but well developed little web site. Nicely executed. Who was web production company? Anyoneknow?? Top points to them.
I liked Coulson when he was focussed on tail, not work. Too much good stuff coming out of Patts.
Congrats though Jim and Cuz, nice blokes who
do very nice stuff.
Jim and Cuz off the Cannes again to fill the bags again me thinks!!
Who’s buying the guns and coke??!!
Patts just gave us a bit of the old BMF medicine. Nice intergration. A
A god old school idea, done in a modern way.
I remember the blog ripping into Burst when it launched. People even utubed links
to slow mo footage etc. It turned out to be one of the ads that held up our decade creatively.
Wierdly, I reckon this is better than burst.
Great line. Right on brief. Totally re lanches a dead
old product. It’s a perfect Product demonstration and tells the bloody ingredients story. it’s fun.
And the client will cream themselves with measured sales results right off the web site uploads.
Good luck, hope the Bly hacks are on target as usual!
Ouch, any new Mars or Snikkers ads killing it at the moment?? Bet they didn’t see
that coming!!
8.5 from this judge. 9.5 if people actually fill the web site with attempts. 10 if you put mine on TV!
It’s fucking great. Pun – who cares. ‘Make your own ad’ – who cares. It’s fun. Really fun.
But – I also love ‘get some nuts’ from Snickers. And Hoedown. So yeah. Choc bars are the new hubba bubba.
Fo’ real.
There have been a few nice things on the blog already this year, but this is the first genuine contender to emerge. Well done! It might just be a strng competitve year fr
our business. After the OSS poor one last year, let’s hope so!!
Well done patts, the gountlet has been thrown down.
Hard to say. This could go either way. The core thought doesn’t feel that original, but when you watch the spots it feels really fresh. I think it will pick up. Well done!
Got to agree, I really like it. The only thing I wasn’t sure about was the picnic line being delivered by the talent at the end. Sounds like a client demand. But that’s a minor issue. For Australia this is truely award winning. For D&AD or Cannes, I’m not sure. Good luck though. Very simple but brilliant. I wish there was more work like this in Australia.
It’s a really nice build on the “can you eat a weetbix in 60 seconds?” challenge.
Great stuff.
I don’t know if it will trouble jurors, but I like it. It has a good feel and makes me feel nice. Punters will like it and try it, unlike that Team Dry fluff from last year.
I like them saying the line at the end. It’s funny.
Also well done on all the voiceovers – that’s good writing right there. A lot of good writing.
I wonder if the agency would have come out so strongly on the blog if the first comment hadn’t been so cutting? I see a lot of Patts on the back but not much effort to refute the critique
The ads neither fun nor funny.
The only appeal would seem to be for the 200 or so in the ads and their friends and family, plus those with an overweening belief that media is more important than ideas.
The other 20 million or so of us will be scratching our heads.
Oh fark it!
I wanted to say that it wasn’t so great, but it is actually bloody good. Kinda old school and new school advertising / brand / promo / tv / cyber and interactive. All in a ample fun and very true idea.
I like it. Hope ad juries are decent enough to give it what it deserves!
Congrats.
10:33 I wouldn’t go so far as to say it’s Cannes or D&aD, but I agree it is nice.
Settle mate.
I’d love to ssevEreve Back down one on national tv in under 30 seconds, then finish the spot by saying he’d rather vote for Bobbys vb Ads!!!!
Please ad gods, make my one wish come true!
Sorry ben and ben and Jim, it’s just my fantasy.
I wish we’d all stop talking about idea and execution as being two separate things – we only ever see them in unison and to bisect them doesn’t do justice to the end product which at the end of the day, is all that exists. Sure, neither in their own right may be groundbreakingly different, but when you put it together it makes for a brilliant campaign that consumers will like, regardless of whether they go online to make their own ads or not.
I absolutely love this work, it’s honest about the product and not so ad-wanky that no one outside of advertising will understand.
In book at D&AD – probably not, Cannes – highly probably and deserving.
Nice one guys.
44 comments for a post that appeared on Saturday morning? Patts can be justly proud of their social networking skills – although you do have to wonder what category this blog will fit into at the Effies. I am now beginning to think that even the first post on the blog was from them, galvinising the most apathetic of GPY&R workers to blog their anonymous support. Sadly, because it is a weekend, sitemeter can’t confirm what we all suspect
You’re kidding me right? You mean to tell me 15 randoms got up on Sunday morning between 7am and 8 to say how good this campaign was? I’m on my I-phone and haven’t seen the campaign yet but get your hands off it Patts. At least spread your comments out so it’s not so obvious.
Isn’t it just Maxibon with a ‘new media’ twist?
I like it. Its a great product demo.
But I wish the talent didn’t say the line – it turns all the ‘real people’ talent into actors and takes some of the shine from the spots.
The blog seems to be split between a surprisingly large (for a weekend) group of anonymous posters who love it the work, a much smaller group of anonymous posters who think all those who love it actually work at Patts and at least one anonymous poster – in a tin foil hat – who thinks all the posters work there. You can’t imagine the agency putting this much effort into a social media campaign without having somebody digital keep an eye on the blogs. Looking forward to when Finance, TV admin and the junior clients join the fray in the next couple of hours
Do you have to work at Patts to be in the Ads?
Don’t know who Alex is but Donna and Frank are creatives.
Did I miss something?
I stopped reading the comments after a while. You should all get some nuts.
I really like them, just wish I could turn the voice over off. Think it’s redundant.
Over 50 comments over the weekend. GET A LIFE people.
For the record I commented up there Feb 7 at 7:52 and I work at Mojo. As much as I dont like to say it they have done a great job, maybe not brilliance but its good. The reason for such an early post is because the CB twitter update came through on my feed. forgive me for keeping up to date with those things that interest me!!!!!
I doubt that this amount of Patts people have commented because quite frankly they dont have that many people working there anymore anyway!
The last step in the instructions on the site requires that you ‘have fun’.
This for me, is the missing element. People do an awkward job of eating the bar and then delivering the line but at no time do they look like they are enjoying it and it’s just not fun or funny to watch.
Perhaps getting some wackos to film it at the outset instead of agency staff and their mothers might have set the tone early.
Solid idea but loses something in the translation to actual result.
Agreed with the abundance of anon comments. I do like this, but keen to see what the general consensus is in a couple of weeks.
Lets all let the actual campaign results be the judge in a few weeks.
I rekon it will smash it, and luckily the results will be all over the net and the web site for everyone to see.
I looking forward to seeing if an ad campaign actually works!
if this is a clear contender for 2010, our industry has gone to shite. Wake up people. This is ugly.
I saw these ads several times over the weekend and wasn’t impressed by them. “It’s no picnic”? Isn’t that a phrase you’d use to describe something you DON’T enjoy? I’ve never had one before, but this isn’t going to make me run out to try them either. Plus the DIY feel is one thing for YouTube, but for broadcast, it’s a bit off-putting. Thought I had flicked over to the public access channel on accident.
Sydney suit (above) did you also write “Listen guys, if you are a big agency with big client and a big budget why waste your time and ours trying to do something like this?” as “Peter” first post. You are kind of saying the same thing twice
I Like this.
THE American VO takes it from average to really good / entertaining.
Great work
I think the real cut through is the genuine user made feel on the TV.
It stands out like dogs balls!!
And is much more compelling than squilion $ Soccer ad above.
Weird how some people always want their TV ads to look like they always have.
Good on Cadbury for trying to break through the clutter I say!
Maybe there are a few big directors on the blog, who don’t like the future!
Sorry, but I lobe that Patts found a way for people to make their own ads on their mobile phones and get them on TV without a director in sight.
It’s really original, and it cuts through.
NZ agency with better things to do with their time post a funny confectionary themed ad on the blog. They get the usual 7 comments and a bagging.
Australian agency post a funny confectionary themed ad on the blog and get 50 positive comments before anyone has even got to work on Monday.
Go figure.
Sorry ‘EL G’, but I disagree.
I think the idea is good, but they’ve done it a great disservice by copying the voiceover from the Errol Morris ‘High Life’ ads for Miller Lite.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nKekXzEMwxc
I am Ex pat
I am Ex Patts
I worked on Picnic
They have F all money and this is nice.
Grats Jim, Cuz, Ben and Nappa.
It’s MAMMOTH MAMMOTH!
Such a nice way to show what is unique about the bar. Better than i thought when i first heard about it. Nice. Who cares if other brands have had people make ads themselves before? I am off to pressure a nutty chocolate log down my mouth.
Please don’t bring up the it’s like something I’ve seen before thing.
This one really has a big original idea in it.
It will work very well for it’s brave client and the agency.
I just went on the site and for the very first time actually had fun with an advertising web site. Go to the Yellow choc bar one, it looks nice, but you only get to watch a guy do stuff for a product that you don’t really care much about. You can’t help but be totally entertained on the Picnic site, because it’s about you. That is smart modern advertising.
IT WAS THE DEFINITION OF AN ORIGINAL CREATIVE EXPERIENCE.
I’d never done anything like that before and it was fun. And I sent it to my entire facebook list. That makes it an awesome direct campaign aswell, because I did all the social networking most ad campaigns can’t get anyone to do.
This idea is properly integrated and really good, especially in the digital component.
It should not be brought down by that old find the u-tube link trick.
I say it is the big winner for 2010!!!
People saying it is good on here does not make it any good. It just makes the agency feel better.
The ads aren’t a fresh idea but the overall concept of people making their own ads/ running 200 ads on TV is very fresh. They are running on TV right? I like the idea of those shitty ads cutting through the shiny TV gloss.
Yes indeed. Instead of one good ad, we have 200 crappy ones.
That’s engagement.
What will be interesting is how they track the effectivenes of a real interactive campaign like this – rather than relying on the usual TV brand tracking crap and the usual TV ads.
Obviously Sales are everything, but how will we know that this type of communication ultimately works better than over directed food porn with an expensive music track…?
Followed up by a “Brand Power” spot with some mother telling us how it fits easily in her pocket or fucking handbag and how much the kids like choking on them while they are on the swings!!!
oh fuck please, please work….nice Patts
With you Philip,
But I’m gonna do more than hope it works. I’m gonna make it work.
Or I will eat my words.
“Diedre said:
Sorry ‘EL G’, but I disagree.
I think the idea is good, but they’ve done it a great disservice by copying the voiceover from the Errol Morris ‘High Life’ ads for Miller Lite.”
Hi Deidre.
Who cares what they have or have not copied. i dont know what the Miller ad is you are talking about and I can guarantee you that the punters wont.
2.39.
Who cares about the punters? The judges will know and punish it mercilessly. So it will fail with consumers because it fails to entertain and it will fail at awards because it lacks originality and merit. They should have stuck to a big budget ad that everyone would have loved.
Indians
Well done 5:10. It took 78 comments but finally someone has exposed the real inspiration for this campaign.
Praveen?
Just saw one of the user generated tvc’s – it’s like eating a dry salada and trying to whistle – funny – I likey.
It is an approach that is, as they say honest, but unless you have ten thousand entries, the campaign is relying heavily on the tv component engaging a broader audience.
I’m not sure that a dozen variations of different people eating a picnic really fits that bill.
There was a campaign done a few years back that took a similar honest approach…asked the public to generate the content…video loaded online…public could email their friends and upload on youtube…best became TVCs….public voted etc…didn’t however have the benefit of customization software.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6nw7h8kgkEM
That is the stupidest u-tube link to something that is sorta like something that someone sorta once did that I have ever seen!!!!!!!!!!!!!
GET BACK TO WORK, idiot. (By idiot, I mean me, I wish I hadn’t even looked at the link or read this far down this blog trail. I feel dirty).
The comments attributed to Ted 5:50 were meant as a compliment, just in case they appear otherwise. I think its great a campaign draws from ads of the past and then improves upon it. Patts deserve big congrats for that.
Would any of you put a 30 second home shot ad of a person eating a Picnic and delivering a line on your reel?
No.
Just because the mechanics for producing these ads are somewhat cool and funky doesn’t change the fact that ads themselves are not.
I would rather eat a Twix but I’II give it a go! Good work guys.
Its a shame for there giant list of creative directors, art directors and producers that they couldnt find the time for a designer to make the site look as good as the idea.
Visually poor effort!
Now I know why Patts PR-ed this soooooo early!!!!!!!!! Seeing the first three spots on air this sunday night made me realise not only are they the shitest ads I’ve ever seen on TV (and I’ve been to north Queensland) but there is also no real incentive or call to action to go to the website. Yeah, I also want to look like a dick on national TV so I’ll do one too! No thanks.
Poo poo poo poo poo poo poo poo poo poo poo poo poo poo poo poo poo poo poo poo poo poo poo…..
no matter how much you spin it guys with your PR blurb.
so sorry guys. some judges might fall into your (never before done media trap) trap but the smart ones will see right through this tripe.
Poor Jake, all bitter and twisted up about someone else’s ads. SAD!
Timely article . I loved the details ! Does anyone know if my business might get a sample VA 26-1852 document to type on ?