Client: Dairy Queen
EVP U.S. Marketing: Maria Hokanson
Integrated Marketing Manager: Lisa Jesser
Public Relations Manager: Bri Bauer
Content & Social Media Marketing Manager: Jenell Lammers
Agency: Barkley
Executive Creative Director: Katy Hornaday
Group Creative Director: Berk Wasserman
Creative Director: Matt Pruett
Associate Creative Director: Joe DeSalvo
Associate Creative Director: Kyle Anthony
Executive Producer: Melany Esfeld
Producer: Shawn Wallace
Art Director: Chris Larberg
Copywriter: Justin Smith
Project Manager: James Prideaux
Group Account Director: Stephanie Parker
Account Director: Andy Pitts
Account Supervisor: Julia Unverfehrt
Group Strategy Director: Chris Cardetti
Strategist: Scott Roberts
Engagement Director: Chris Mason
Production Company: RW2
Director: Kevin Schowengerdt
Production Company Producer: Marie Dougherty
Director of Photography: Jason Cantu
Editorial / Post Production Company: Barkley Films
Producer: Lauren Alexander
Editor: Josh Dubois
Audio Mix: Patrick Meagher
Colorist: Tyler Roth
Published: June 2018
Synopsis:
42% of parents didn’t take a single day off in the past year. To combat this disturbing statistic, Dairy Queen and creative agency Barkley are challenging parents to get OOO for their kids by taking a summer skip day.
Beginning on June 21st to coincide the longest day of the year, the #SummerSkipDay campaign implores parents to play hooky from work and spend the day with their kids. DQ uses a children’s choir, The Summer Skip Day Singers, to deliver a guilt trip that no parent can ignore. The choir performs classic songs we know by heart, but with new lyrics that have a brutally honest bite, in summer locations like a lake, a baseball field and a park to show parents where they should be with their kids instead of at the office
Songs include Guilt Trip set to the tune of Ode to Joy and Working This Whole Summer set to the tune of I've Been Working on the Railroad with lyrics like, “You don't have to write that email, forget those status reports. Wouldn't you feel better at the pool in some shorts?”.
“Dairy Queen has filled our fans’ summer memory banks for 80 years,” says Maria Hokanson, VP of Marketing at International Dairy Queen. “Recently, we’ve noticed that many parents have lost touch with their summer selves by staying at work. We felt like it was time to encourage our fans to take a day off and make a memory with their kids.”
To entice parents to call in a skip day all summer long, DQ is launching a new app that offers a free Blizzard upon download and will release five new offers every week. Influencers and their families will take over DQ social channels with the mission to do as many summer activities as humanly possible. DQ will be giving them tips and tricks on how to make the most of their skip day, like proper cannonball form and how to turn khaki pants into khaki shorts.