A Smobering Way To Quit Smoking
August 16, 2010
Fraser, a lacrosse coach from Hamilton, Ont., has been a hard-core smoker for 23 years. As one of the eight Canadians featured in Nicorette’s new web-based advertising campaign, Fraser wants to quit. But as he explains in the first instalment of Smober Up, a series of 10 so-called “webisodes” that premièred on a dedicated YouTube channel in June, kicking the habit is no easy task. “I hate that I’m smoking,” he tells his video diary, the upward-tilted, handheld camera accentuating the furrowing in his brow, “and I’m going out for a smoke.”
This kind of raw anguish is often on display in Smober Up, which chronicles the ups and downs of smokers trying to quit—as host Ray Zahab remarks in the opening segment, “with a little support from Nicorette.” And according to Daniel Zeff, CEO of Evidently, the creative agency that conceived of the campaign for the Johnson & Johnson–owned brand, it’s the real thing. “It’s not a sort of generated, manufactured piece of reality,” he says. “There’s a lot of emotion…when people think about making that big decision to quit. As soon as you give people the opportunity to speak about the experience, that just pours out.”
Read the full article on CanadianBusiness.com
Nicorette Backs Reality Webisodes
July 12, 2010
Creative communications agency Evidently, with offices in Toronto, Los Angeles and London, has teamed up with Johnson & Johnson brand Nicorette for Smober Up, a 10-episode reality web series currently featured on YouTube (www.youtube.com/smoberup).
The series, wholly produced in-house by the agency’s Toronto office, features eight Canadians who, for varying personal reasons, have decided to take the plunge and get “smober” (the Urban Dictionary defines being “smober” as “being nicotine free and no longer smoking”). Hosted by ex-smoker and marathon runner/motivational speaker Ray Zahab, the eight participants undergo a series of healthy challenges to illustrate what smoking has done to their bodies, and, of course, integrate Nicorette products such as the Patch into their efforts to quit.
Read the full article on RealScreen.com
Smokers Go Cold Turkey in Nicorette Online Series
June 28, 2010
NEW YORK (AdAge.com) — While the pharmaceutical industry wades cautiously into digital marketing, Johnson & Johnson’s Nicorette is taking a deep dive with an unusual 10-part webisode reality series that follows eight Canadians trying to kick the habit. The “Smober Up” series is to anti-smoking what NBC’s “The Biggest Loser” is to anti-obesity efforts and was produced by the Toronto office of content and integrated production agency Evidently.
“Everyone knows someone who has smoked or wanted to quit,” said Evidently VP-Head of Planning Marisa May Caple, who noted that this is less about a brand point of view — Nicorette is by far the market leader in Canada, where the reality series is taking place — and more of “a story about choices.”
Read the full article on AdAge.com
Evidently Unveils New Masterplan For Battersea Power Station
June 2009
Evidently has produced the latest film for the proposed development of the Battersea Power Station site, owned by Real Estate Opportunities Limited.
The new film combines animation and footage to demonstrate the new masterplan for the Power Station, as designed by acclaimed architect Rafael Vinoly. Previously, Evidently produced a series of films outlining the original scheme for REO. The latest film details the changes to the scheme resulting from two years of consultation with the public and stakeholders.
The new film will be utilised throughout the planning application process. It was on display to the public at the Public Exhibition in the Battersea Power Station (4 – 6 June 2009).
Evidently Delivers A New Consumer Engagement Film For The Energy Savings Trust Advice Centre London
March 2009
Evidently produced a film designed for residential consumer engagement which was exhibited during an event held at Royal Society of Arts in Central London on the 24th March 2009. The film was seen by 60 people at the event and by another 300 users on Youtube.
The main film is the first in a series focusing on who the advice centre are and highlights the free and impartial advice they provide to the capital’s residents. This helps them to reduce their energy consumption by focusing on energy efficiency, personal transport, water, waste and renewables.
It also features interviews from advice centre representatives and residents who’ve been helped by the advice centre through business, community, local council and direct engagement with the advice centre.
Following the launch of the main film, Evidently has also been commissioned to create smaller films targeted at specific audiences (CSR managers for businesses, senior members of local authority councils and community groups across the capital) that will be exhibited at the Energy Savings Trust event on 17th June 2009 before the public release.
Brave New World: Inescapably Branded Entertainment
March 2009
Evidently’s recent feature in Dragonfly magazine.
Is the 30-second spot dead? Are we on the brink of a communication revolution? Does anyone else realise Tom Cruise is (both a dreamboat and) a brand icon?
Daniel Zeff explains why our social contracts have been rendered null and void by the emergence of bittorrent, TiVO, Sky+ and on-demand. Why we find ourselves in the midst of a generational media migration…both terrifying and exhilarating. And how we can draw powerful lessons from the likes of Top Gun to make sense of it all.
There’s a place for product placement, a time for sponsorship & for integration, but the future holds so much more for brands.
This article discusses Evidently’s 5 Rules of Inescapably Branded Entertainment. If you want to know more, I’m afraid you’ll just have to read it for yourself…
PDF version
Word version
As published
Battersea Power Station
Evidently on Channel 4 news.
Evidently on the BBC.
