Lacta: From the Start

Credits & Description:

Category: Confectionery, Snacks
Media: Content
Brand: Lacta
Agency: Ogilvy
Geo: Greece
Advertising Agency: OgilvyOne, Athens, Greece
Executive Creative Director: Panos Sambrakos
Creative Director: Theodore Tsecouras
Art Director: Gert Tzafa
Associate Creative Director: George Theodorakopoulos
Business Unit Directors: Christina Alifakioti, Theodore Politis / Bold Ogilvy & Mather
Account Director: Elena Vlagouli / Bold Ogilvy & Mather
Screenwriter: Myrto Kontova
Director: Vardis Marinakis
Producer: Stelios Cotionis / Foss Productions
Editor: Lampis Charalambidis
Composer: Vaggelis Tountas
Published: January 2017
Description:
"From the start" is a 5-part web-series that tells the story of a man that doesn't believe in love, falling for the girl he sees in a dream he has every time he eats a piece of Lacta chocolate.
Outcome:
The episodes were seen by 2 million viewers in a country of 5 million Internet users and had 250.000 comments likes & shares.Lacta's YouTube channel became number one in Greece, with the biggest number of uploaded views, the biggest number of subscribers in the country as well as being the fastest growing channel during January & February, according to Social Bakers. - https://www.socialbakers.com/resources/reports/greece/2017/january/- https://www.socialbakers.com/resources/reports/greece/2017/february/The series became so popular that it was eventually picked up by a Alpha Channel in Greece and shown as a TV movie, on Valentine's day, with a 17% Viewer Rating.And the buzz around Lacta's magical taste did wonders for its sales as well, with an unprecedented turnaround from -10% to +4.3% vs the previous year.
Synopsis:
During a tough market recession in Greece, chocolate consumption was dropping and competition was fierce. To make a breakthrough, Lacta chocolate wanted to remind consumers of its uniquely sweet taste, by comparing it to the sweetness of falling in love.
Campaign Description:
"From the start" is a web series, that tells the story of a man that doesn't believe in love, falling for the girl he sees in a dream, that he has each time he eats a piece of Lacta chocolate. In each of the 5 episodes, everything begins from the start, with him meeting her in a majestic place overlooking the sea.The dream lasts for as long as the piece of chocolate is melting in his mouth, but he soon realizes he can advance the plot by cutting corners, wanting to spend as much time with her as possible. Before long, he becomes obsessed with her, until he's eventually convinced that the girl of his dreams actually exists in the real world and is determined to find her!
Execution:
The campaign started with a TV spot, showing a man eating a piece of Lacta chocolate, having flashbacks of how a passionate love story of his began. The slogan: "Every piece of Lacta chocolate is like falling in love, from the start".But when the story of the TV spot unfolded in a 5-part web series, on YouTube and Facebook, audiences soon realized that what seemed like the past, was only a glimpse of the future. The series, shot on location on the island of Kea, starring Greece's most popular leading man, captivated audiences and had everyone talking about the effect eating a Lacta chocolate has.Lacta even released a 360 VR video that magically transported viewers and let them experience the dream on their own.The series became so popular that it was eventually picked up by a major network and shown as a TV movie, on Valentine's day.
Strategy:
Lacta has a long tradition of telling love stories in long form. This year, we wanted to fulfil the expectation of our viewers, but extend it over time, with serialised content that would keep them engaged in the month leading to Valentine's Day.In order to appeal to our core target group of young females, Greece's hottest star Apostolis Totsikas, was cast in the leading role, which created a lot of buzz during the shooting of the series and a big following during its release.By having the product play an organic role in each episode, we managed to have its consumption on screen become integral to the story and not only be welcomed by the audience, but also to become a hot topic of discussion on Social Media.
Relevancy:
This is branded entertainment web-series, of 5 x 15-minute episodes, that proved immensely popular with audiences in Greece and especially with our target audience of young women.It's a love story that not only managed to transport audiences, but to also have everyone talking about the effect eating Lacta chocolate has, resulting in an impressive sales increase.