A SLOW AD FOR FAST PEOPLE

Short List
TitleA SLOW AD FOR FAST PEOPLE
Brand7-ELEVEN
Product/ServiceB2B
Category B02. Use of Audio Platforms
Entrant ÅKESTAM HOLST Stockholm, SWEDEN
Idea Creation ÅKESTAM HOLST Stockholm, SWEDEN
Media Placement ÅKESTAM HOLST Stockholm, SWEDEN
Production FLICKORNA LARSSON Stockholm, SWEDEN
Credits
Name Company Position
Andreas Karlsson Åkestam Holst NoA Art Director
Noah Bramme Åkestam Holst NoA Copywriter
Frida Norén Åkestam Holst NoA Planner
John Müllersdorf Åkestam Holst NoA Producer
Daniel Smedfors Åkestam Holst NoA Client Director
Joakim Khoury Åkestam Holst NoA Creative Director
Daniel Kilgren Flickorna Larsson Sound Production

Why is this work relevant for Media?

Throughout most of human history, access to knowledge was limited. Today, however, we’re drowning in information. There are more books to read, podcasts to listen to, and videos to watch than anyone could consume in countless lifetimes. Catching people's attention has never been harder. Game-changing channel strategy and ideas have never been more important. By using the podcast media in an innovative way, we managed to catch the attention of the information-overloaded fast listeners that are otherwise skimming through our ads. "A Slow Ad for Fast People" was an analog hack in a digital information-overloaded format.

Background

Swedes love their cinnamon buns so much they gave the baked goods their annual day — kanelbullens dag — offering sweet-toothed Swedes something special to celebrate. Every year on October 4th, Swedes celebrate Cinnamon Bun Day. Cafes, restaurants, and convenience stores across the country sell spiced Swedish buns. On Cinnamon Bun Day, no office is without cinnamon buns. In the days around Swedish Cinnamon Bun Day, 7-Eleven, Sweden, sells hundreds of thousands of cinnamon buns. A big chunk of the buns are ordered by companies, so 7-Eleven wanted to make a podcast ad that promoted their highly appreciate B2B offers, which goes under the name "Bun-2-Business".

Describe the creative idea / insights (30% of vote)

Most of us are familiar with binge-watching and speed reading, but there’s a relatively new mode of consumption that’s emerged: podfasting. First profiled in 2017, podfasters love listening to podcasts so much that they’re speeding them up in order to fit more into their day. A study published in January 2021 by the Statista Research Department shows that 26% of all podcast listeners play their podcasts at an increasing pace. The fact that more and more people are listening to podcasts at a higher speed can be seen as a positive evolution for advertisers, as fast listeners are less likely to skip past the ads. But when rushing through the ads, there is a significant risk that the recipient will miss the message. That inspired us to make a "A Slow Ad for Fast People." An unusually slow spot for 7-Eleven—recorded at half speed—to catch the attention of fast listeners.

Describe the strategy (20% of vote)

During Cinnamon Bun Day, the question is not whether Swedish offices will serve their staff cinnamon buns or not – it's a must-have – the question is where they will order these buns from. On October 4th, 7-Eleven is competing with every cafe and grocery store in Sweden, so the need to be top of mind is vital. No business order is made without some kind of executive signing it off, or perhaps ordering it themselves. Therefore, the target audience for this campaign was business leaders and decision-makers at companies. Our thesis was that business people have a fondness for two things: efficiency and coffee breaks. Therefore, we direct this spot towards business podcasts, where a large chunk of the listeners is speeding up their content.

Describe the execution (20% of vote)

We launched the ad the slow ad in the days prior to October 4th, kanelbullens dag. The podcast spot aired in some of Sweden's most prominent business, career, and news podcasts. We didn't just want to slow down the ad in the post edit but instead record a voice-over artist that read the spot really slow. We went through a voice bank consisting of hundreds of voices to find the perfect one. After countless hours of listening to casting tapes, we found Christian Hillborg, famous for playing Erik, in the series Vikings. But, more important for this spot, he is also a great musician with a great ear and a feeling for tone and pitch. That made it possible for him to read the script in half the speed without it sounding strange when the speed-listeners played it at double speed.

List the results (30% of vote)

On Cinnamon Bun Day, 7-Eleven, Sweden, reached a record number of bun sales by selling more than 138% more cinnamon buns than the year prior.