Bic Champenships
Bic
Issue 43 | June 2017
Agency
McCann Melbourne
Creative Team
Chief Creative Officer Pat Baron Executive Creative Director Matt Lawson Copywriters Charles Baylis, Patrick Trethowan Art Directors Caity Moloney, Ryan Clayton
Production Team
Agency Producers Victoria Conners, Afrim Memed Head of Digital Tony Prysten Digital Producers Allison Snow, Joe Guario Senior Designer Dave Budd
Other Credits
Managing Director Adrian Mills Group Account Director Richard Hayes Senior Account Manager Conor Lloyd Head of Social Chris Baker
Date
Late 2017
Background
The best thing about Bic 4 Colour Pens was they lasted a really long time. The problem for Bic sales was... the pens lasted a really long time. So rather than run an advertising campaign selling a benefit that was ultimately a business problem, the challenge was to run a campaign to get existing owners to use their Bic 4 Colours Pens more, so that their pens would run out and they would have to buy new ones.
Idea
Players competed with their blood, sweat and ink in 14 new pen-based sports that athletes could only enter with their Bic 4 Colour pen. The campaign introduced the world to Clicky-Clicky Fast Pen, Pen Metre Diving, Rhythmic Penastics, Click Draw, Bic Bocce, Pen Pong, Ice Pen Skating and more. To bring the Champenships to the people, the whole tournament was hosted live on Facebook where athletes submitted their competition entry videos, provided live "commentary" and tuned in to watch the best of the best compete in five gripping hours of live Penathon.
Results
549,000 people took part in the Champenships with 1.8 million spectators watching. Since the campaign registered a stunning 34% sales growth over the event period, the Champenship flame is sure to burn brightly in the years to come.
Our Thoughts
To get people to film a video of themselves doing something a brand has suggested they do and then upload it to a website is a pretty big ask. Yet over half a million people leapt over the hurdles and became participants. Why? Usually it is because there is a big enough prize at the end to justify the time and effort. In this instance there was nothing except the delightful pointlessness of it all. It would have taken a brand manager with rare pluck to have bought this idea because it is so very silly. But y'know what, silliness works.