AMV/BBDO London’s Walkers ‘Sandwich’ campaign – co-written by Euro Sydney ECD Steve Coll – takes out Creative Effectiveness Grand Prix
Euro RSCG Sydney ECD, Steve Coll, is celebrating a massive week, which has seen his Walkers ‘Sandwich’ campaign follow a Yellow Pencil at D&AD by winning the inaugural Cannes Grand Prix for Effectiveness.
Besides the Grand Prix, only five entries won an Effectiveness Lion, including TVNZ ‘The Pacific’ via Colenso BBDO, Auckland. Australia failed to get a Lion.
The multi-channel ‘Sandwich’, which Coll co-wrote whilst working as creative director of Pepsi brands at AMV/BBDO London, saw off ‘Old Spice The Man Your Man Could Smell Like’ and ‘Mac vs PC’ to claim the top prize.
VIEW THE WINNERS:
The ‘Sandwich’ campaign began with an ambient stunt that saw celebrities, such as Pamela Anderson and Jensen Button, descend on the tiny English village of Sandwich to prove ‘Any Sandwich is more exciting with Walkers’.
The campaign generated a massive online and press following, becoming one the UK’s most talked about campaigns last year. However, according to Coll, the primary purpose was to influence major retailers.
Says Coll (pictured by CB in Cannes today): “Like all the best briefs, Sandwich came about from a business problem. The major retailers weren’t positioning Walkers in the sandwich aisle; so although time-poor lunchtime shoppers were buying sandwiches, they weren’t buying crisps. Our brief was to remind Tesco, Sainsbury’s, and the British public, that sandwiches and crisps belong together – leading us to the thought ‘Any Sandwich is more exciting with Walkers’.”
Already the biggest crisp brand in the UK, Walkers link the campaign directly to the sale of an extra of 15 million packs in the past year. Better still, all six major retailers are now stocking crisps in the sandwich aisle, with deals locked in for another year to come.
Adds Coll: “I was really excited by the creation of this category. The introduction of an Effectiveness Lion is another great way for the Cannes Festival to demonstrate the undeniable connection between creativity and business results.”
3 Comments
That’s a fair enough reason not to be back in the office on Monday…
It’s rare someone so talented is also such a great bloke.
Well done Steve. You deserve it.
Cheers
Ant
This award just undermines everything that we do. My fear is that there is now only one category that clients will be interested in viewing. If that becomes the reality we’ve just set ourselves back even further.
This award gives grounding to everything that we do. My hope is that there is now only one category that clients will be interested in viewing. If that becomes the reality we’ve further justified our existence even further.