| Title | THE ODYSSEY |
| Brand | HEINEKEN |
| Product/Service | HEINEKEN |
| Category |
A01. FICTION: SERIES OR FILM |
|
Entrant Company
|
WIEDEN+KENNEDY AMSTERDAM, THE NETHERLANDS
|
|
Contributing Company
|
WIEDEN+KENNEDY AMSTERDAM, THE NETHERLANDS
|
|
Media Agency
|
STARCOM MEDIAVEST GROUP Amsterdam, THE NETHERLANDS
|
Credits
| Mark Bernath/Eric Quennoy |
Wieden/Kennedy Amsterdam |
Executive Creative Directors |
| Thierry Albert/Faustin Claverie |
Wieden/Kennedy Amsterdam |
Creative Directors |
| Henrik Edelbring |
Wieden/Kennedy Amsterdam |
Art Director |
| Toby Moore |
Wieden/Kennedy Amsterdam |
Copywriter Copywriter Tvc |
| Andrew Dobbie |
Wieden/Kennedy Amsterdam |
Copywriter – Legendary Casting |
| Erik Verheijen/Elissa Singstock |
Wieden/Kennedy Amsterdam |
Broadcast Production |
| Nick Docherty |
Wieden/Kennedy Amsterdam |
Planner |
| Jordi Pont/Clare Pickens/Jorge Fesser/Elianne Vermeulen |
Wieden/Kennedy Amsterdam |
Account Management |
| Tom Kuntz |
MJZ London |
Director Director |
| Tim Maurice Jones/Florian Hoffmeister |
MJZ London |
Directors Of Photography |
| Suza Horvat |
MJZ London |
Producer |
| Debbie Turner |
MJZ London |
Executive Producer |
| James Gilchrist |
MJZ London |
Director Legendary Casting |
| Stephen Johnson |
MJZ London |
Producer Legendary Casting |
| Russell Icke |
WHITEHOUSE POST LONDON |
Editor Tvc |
| James Forbes/Robertson |
WHITEHOUSE POST LONDON |
Editor Legendary Casting |
| Raja Sehgal |
GRAND CENTRAL SOUND STUDIOS |
Editor Legendary Casting |
| Jay Bandish/Dave Fleet/Rachel Stones |
THE MILL |
Post Production |
| Gianluca Di Tondo/Sandrine Huijgen/Paul Smailes/Josefien Olij/Dario Gargiulo |
Heineken |
Heineken Global Team |
| Kristen Robinson/James Miles/Renee Lee/Ben Williams |
Starcom Mediavest Group |
Media Agency |
The Campaign
Some of the more dangerous activities like diving in the pool, sliding down the railing and falling overboard on the raft are activities not necessarily allowed to be shown on TV in connection with alcohol advertising in many markets, as many markets have clearance rules to the effect that we cannot show our heroes in an environment where drinking alcohol would be dangerous. This rule applies, even if they are not drinking.
It was definitely challenging to come up with an edit that complied, but the early involvement and close relationship with clearance bodies around the world allowed us to come to a brilliant edit.
The growing audience of online media has seen some advertising clearance bodies broaden their authority. Because we were faced with dealing with the challenges posed by clearance issues at an early stage for the TV commercial, when the time came to produce the digital content, we were well prepared.
Heineken also has a commitment to maintain their own guidelines for responsible alcohol advertising. This included factors such as age-gating the content and ensuring that our heroes were not drinking or handling alcohol irresponsibly.
Results
Since Heineken’s global Legends campaign made an entrance like no other, the world has been introduced to several larger than life characters. Spontaneous flute solos, incredible knife skills, James Bond villain-thwarting and impeccable time-keeping are all in a day’s work for the Heineken Legend.
They’re the kind of men who women want, and men want to be; who perform acts of astonishing skill and heroism and always come with winning smile and a side order of panache.
While amazing, perhaps our Legends have been too amazing and maybe it’s a stretch to imagine that any one man can be so remarkable. That’s where The Odyssey comes in.
A campaign that tears up the Legends rulebook, unexpectedly casting 20 different men to play the same character. Each with a unique legendary skill, each a legend in his own right.
A guy who can open Heineken’s with a Crab Claw? We say Legend. A bloke who has birds flocking to his call? He’s a Legend alright. A man who can raise his eyebrow sky high? Yup, Legend.
Together they form one helluva legendary castaway in the Odyssey TVC. Which was followed up by a cheeky little PR film that responds to users who’ve questioned the veracity of the legendary cast. And an interactive version of the TVC which showed the casting sessions where the 20 men were found.
The Odyssey campaign has got beards, it’s got castaways, it’s got cruise ships, it’s got tap dancing, frankly it’s got something for everyone. And most importantly it proves that you don’t have to be legendary at everything to be a Legend. You just have to be legendary at something.
The Odyssey campaign lived on Heineken’s YouTube channel – the Odyssey film, the PR response film, and the Legendary casting films, housed within an interactive version of the Odyssey. We drew the audience in as follows:
- Social media strategy over 2-month period of time on Heineken’s social channels.
- Offline activations and below-the-line promotions in multiple markets all driving towards the Odyssey content.
- Media coverage in the Huffington Post and Fast Co Create.
RESULTS:
- Over 23.3 million consolidated online views to date
- Over 1.8 million total views driven by earned media
- Each casting film individually reached between 18K-30K of completely organic spread
- Almost 2 min of view duration for The Odyssey Interactive Film