Steamy iAd
Issue 19 | June 2011
Agency
BBDO New York
Creative Team
Chief Creative Officer: David Lubars; Senior Creative Director: Tom Darbyshire; Art Director: Jim Cancelliere; Copywriter: Jon Yasgur; Designer: Steven Lao; Agency Producer: James Beck; Music Producer: Loren Parkins; Art Buyer: Kathy Lando; Account Team: Paul Reilly/Melissa Martinez, Hayley Devlin; Photographers: Dan Goldberg/Petrina Tingsley/Jim Cancelliere
Production Team
Information Architect: Chrys Li; Web Development: Apple Inc; Producer: Janice Leung; Editing Houses: K5/The Kitchen; Editor: Matt Craig; Interactive Project Manager: Ernie Klein
Date
September 2010
Background
Campbell’s has been making condensed soup for over 100 years. They wanted to let people know that the brand was not stuck in the past but had recently changed for the better. To signal that the brand is forward-thinking, they chose to become
a charter advertiser in the most advanced medium out there: the iAd.
Idea
When you tapped on the iAd banner, you saw a piping hot bowl of soup, which steamed up the screen of your iPhone. Wiping away the steam revealed the iconic Campbell’s can, which acted as a menu. If you spun the can with your finger, it revealed a number of different viewing options. You could see how soup can be used to enhance many family meals, view photographs and download recipes. There was
even a $1-off coupon which was emailed to you instantly.
Results
Campbell’s iAd had over 53 million impressions with the average user spending nearly a minute in the experience, far longer than any traditional advertising approach Cambell’s normally used.
A Nielsen study indicated that the iAd was twice as effective as TV and those who saw the interactive iAd were four times more likely to buy Campbell’s soups as a result.
Our Thoughts
The very first iAd was for Dove Men, I think. Unilever’s Axe/Lynx was an early adopter too. So there was an early masculine bias – ads for boys with toys. But the Campbell’s soups ad seems to have been astonishingly successful talking to a broader target audience.
Of course, what makes the iAd interesting to advertisers is precisely what has generated vocal criticism of it – the data it generates.
For the last five years, every year has begun with the headline ‘This is the year of the mobile’ and it hasn’t been. But the iAd really has changed that. Mobile advertising has been given a real shot in the arm. Whether Apple will be long-term beneficiaries of their own innovation remains to be seen.