Adaily's Year of Brilliance #8: Make the Product Precious
This week, we're looking at campaigns that boost perceived value by Making the Product Precious. Showing people going to extreme, often humorous lengths for an item is a powerful way to signal immense desirability and status. The key is justifying this 'madness' by linking the extreme desire back to the product's inherent worth or quality. See more in Adaily here.
1. Steal Artois • Stella Artois
VML Santiago • 2024 • Alcoholic drinks - beer • Chile • LATAM
Campaign Summary:
Stella Artois leaned into the common behavior of patrons stealing their iconic chalices, framing this extreme desire as proof of the product's preciousness by launching "Steal Artois" - a fashion line designed for stylish chalice theft. This playful campaign invited "chalice lovers" to apply for the garments via a secure platform, celebrating the coveted nature of the glassware.
The audacious approach generated massive buzz, achieving 238 million impressions, $3 millions in earned media, and 23 million views.
2. Smugglers • Marmite
adam&eveDDB New York • 2024 • Other food • United States • North America
Campaign Summary:
Marmite tapped into intense expat cravings by recruiting UK fans as "smugglers" to transport the product to the US, showcasing the extreme, illicit lengths people would go to (the product's preciousness) for their beloved spread. This covert social campaign coordinated the "smuggling" via WhatsApp, highlighting fan dedication.
The operation saw 1,325 volunteers, 26 successful "smugglers" (traveling 289k+ km total), generated significant PR (5.6M earned reach), and sparked widespread social conversation.
3. Buy With Your Time • IKEA
MEMAC Ogilvy Dubai • 2020 • Retail - furniture • United Arab Emirates • Middle East
Campaign Summary:
IKEA tackled the barrier of long travel distances to its stores by turning travel time into currency, acknowledging the effort/sacrifice required and framing the products as precious rewards worth the journey. Using Google Maps timeline data, the campaign, allowed customers to "pay" for items with the time spent traveling.
This innovative approach successfully turned a negative into a positive, incentivizing visits and boosting store footfall by 30%.
4. To Go. As Far As You Can. • Burger King
Wolf BCPP Santiago • 2022 • QSR • Chile • LATAM
Campaign Summary:
Burger King used Google Street View to find candid shots of customers eating Whoppers immediately outside restaurants, demonstrating such irresistible desire that the product felt too precious to wait. The campaign highlighted these genuine moments as proof that the Whopper's appeal often overrides the intention of taking it "to go." This authentic approach effectively conveyed the message of the Whopper's overwhelming temptation.
5. Porsche x Puma: Two Icons Of Fast Sneaker Launch • Porsche
Cramer-Krasselt Chicago • 2020 • Cars • United States • North America
Campaign Summary:
Porsche and PUMA collaborated on limited-edition sneakers, using scarcity and an ultra-fast "World's Fastest Pre-Release" (a 2.7-second online event) to make the product seem highly precious and desirable. This hype-driven strategy aimed to generate buzz among sneakerheads and Porsche enthusiasts.
The campaign was highly effective, selling out all 4,000 pairs within 24 hours and generating massive engagement (92 million social impressions, high influencer/AR lens engagement rates).
Quick Takeaways: Make the Product Precious
Lean into (or Create) Coveted Behavior: If people already go to lengths for your product (like stealing Stella chalices), acknowledge or even playfully facilitate it to amplify its precious status. Think: Is there an existing "underground" desire or behavior around your product you could tap into?
Highlight the Hassle People Endure: Showcasing the effort people willingly undertake (smuggling Marmite, traveling hours for IKEA) frames the product as worth the sacrifice, boosting its perceived value. Think: What obstacles or efforts do your most dedicated customers overcome to get/use your product?
Use Scarcity & Speed to Fuel Desire: Limited editions and ultra-fast sales windows (Porsche x Puma) create urgency and FOMO, making items feel instantly more valuable and exclusive. Think: How could you use time limits or limited availability to make acquiring your product feel like a competitive win?
Find Authentic Proof of Irresistibility: Sometimes the proof is already out there. Burger King used real Street View images to show people couldn't wait to eat, proving the product's immediate, precious appeal. Think: Where can you find candid, authentic evidence of people prioritizing or intensely desiring your product?
About Adaily Inspiration
Adaily Inspiration is your weekly dose of creative fuel. Each Tuesday, we explore a powerful creative thinking tool from the Deck of Brilliance (a collection of 52 methods by Juggi Ramakrishnan and Todd McCracken). We break down the tool, show you how to apply it to your marketing, and analyze five award-winning campaigns from the Adaily database that demonstrate its effectiveness. Our goal is to help you generate breakthrough ideas and create campaigns that truly resonate.
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Disclaimer: All campaign descriptions in this post are AI-generated, based on real-life descriptions provided by the authors.
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