Every November 1 and 2, Mexico celebrates Dia de Muertos. Year after year the souls of the dead return to the world of the living to be one more time with their loved ones. On homemade altars, the living pay homage to their dead offering them the things they liked the most while alive: food, drinks and music. This isn’t just another national festivity. It’s a strongly rooted cultural belief. But over the past 10 years, Día de Muertos has exploded in popularity, being celebrated in massive parades and wild costume parties reflecting only the superficial side of it. With that, its deeply meaningful essence is being washed away, becoming more like a celebration for the living rather than for the dead. We were asked to think of a culturally relevant local idea around this festivity, focusing on Converse Create Next’s pillar of music.

Converse Mexico hosted the first ever “Concert for the Souls”, an exclusive live show for the dead. Our creative idea is based on the Mexican belief that every November 1 and 2, the souls of people who are no longer with us return to our world. They’re guided by their loved ones who offer them the things they enjoyed most when they were alive. In this case, that included a concert ticket waiting at their altar. We summoned young artists—Mexican Band Little Jesus and Converse All Stars Mathilde Sobrino, and David de la luz—all with deep personal reasons for playing a show no living human would attend, and invited people to get a seat for their loved ones who are no longer in this world. In an authentic and moving way, Converse reconnected Día de Muertos with its true essence: welcoming back the souls of our loved ones.

While the target audience for the concert was the dead, the target audience for the campaign was everyone who celebrates or has a connection to Día de Muertos. As a brand, Converse has their own rich mystery in the music space and by hosting this concert, their goal was all about empowering the next generation to harness the past to create the future. Our approach was to honor all the traditions of the holiday— a ticket for altars, a celebration for the dead. We created the concert like any real, live event, just with empty seats.

Prior to the concert, people were invited to share the names of their loved ones both to dedicate the concert to them, and invite them to join us. They were also able to download a free ticket to leave as an offering at the altar of those who have passed, helping to guide them to the concert. The concert was streamed on the Converse México YouTube channel featuring the musical talents of Mexican Band Little Jesus and Converse All Stars Mathilde Sobrino, and David de la luz. Throughout the campaign, each of the musical artists shared what the holiday meant to them and how music plays a role in the celebration and remembrance of the tradition.

All in all, more than 16,000 tickets were downloaded in the five days leading into the concert. Including the livestream and views that followed after it, more than 17.3 million (living) people watched the campaign. Compared to Converse’ campaign last year, Concert for the Souls had +127% more impressions and a +3.8 ad recall lift.