Cannes Lions

The Call

PUBLICIS MIDDLE EAST, Dubai / JEEP / 2023

Awards:

1 Shortlisted Cannes Lions
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Overview

Entries

Credits

OVERVIEW

Background

More and more manufacturers are making vehicles which physically resemble Jeeps, communicating functional Jeep capability and reliability. We needed to remind adventurers that Jeep is the one brand that truly delivers on their aspirations.

Jeep and its customers value freedom and discovery. However, most owners of Jeep SUVs live in urban environments. Such is the distraction and noise of daily life in fast-paced cities that everyone, even adventurers, sometimes needs a reminder of what’s important in life.

We wanted to cut through the noise and ‘call’ adventurers to seek out their next adventure, reminding them that a Jeep is designed to take them to places no one else can get to.

It was time for Jeep to reinforce its bond with consumers. Our audience loves a challenge, so our campaign turned every touchpoint into an interactive journey of discovery, while cleverly excluding all other brands from the conversation.

Idea

Daily life is full of distractions. We cut through the noise and ‘called’ adventurers to seek out their next journey.

The Jeep identity has always been an iconic invitation for adventure. But what if it could actually speak and inspire people to break away? Interestingly, we discovered a hidden language inside the Jeep grille. The Jeep identity consists of dots and lines, exactly like Morse Code, which is used to connect with civilization from the kind of far-flung destinations Jeep can take you.

Jeep is uniquely placed to use Morse Code messages to communicate with its adventurous audience who love exploring and going on journeys of discovery.

We intentionally didn’t have a linear and seamless consumer journey, nor a CTA. Instead, we used intriguing design and language to bombard our audience with cryptic digital messages, triggering their curiosity and activating them to start searching for the answers.

Strategy

Our audience yearns for outdoor adventures and meaningful experiences, but in a modern world, they spend 93% of their lives indoors and 4-10 hours glued to their mobile and laptop screens. Our strategy was to break them free from the confines of their urban lives, by infiltrating the very spaces where they were wasting their time – in malls, at home, on social media.

By disrupting their “sleepwalking,” the Jeep call of adventure woke them up. We triggered their curiosity with encrypted Morse Code signals and powerful visuals, so they would curiously follow our trail to unlock the code, be inspired to go on their next adventure and then share their experiences to break out their fellow adventurers.

We created automotive communication that wasn't automotive ads. It celebrated Jeep’s connection with nature and appealed to people who value freedom and discovery as much as we do.

Execution

Our content unfolded across multiple digital channels.

Using the exact dimensions of the Jeep grille logo, we created a new Jeep Morse Font that embodied the Jeep brand identity and its spirit of adventure. We combined it with awe-inspiring images that would appeal to our audience, and broadcast cryptic Morse Code signals across various digital touchpoints with one intention: to capture the attention of explorers when they were caught in unnatural habitats like malls and social, disrupting their "sleep walking" and waking them up. We triggered their curiosity so they would follow our trail to unlock the code. With a simple online search, these curious explorers landed on our microsite where a powerful manifesto welcomed them back to a life of adventure and meaning. They interacted with our translator to decode our Morse Code messages, which urged them to disconnect, go off-grid, and exhale.

Every touchpoint became an interactive journey, appealing to our audience's shared Jeep values of adventure and discovery.

Once they reconnected with what was important, they created their own Morse Code signals to inspire fellow adventurers to break free.

The natural world and the human connection with that natural world became the central heroes of the campaign.

Outcome

The Jeep community, unaffiliated with the Jeep brand, spontaneously started communicating in Morse Code on their Jeep Club Whatsapp groups, we started receiving Morse Code comments on our social posts, and club members printed Morse Code T-shirts.

January to June 2022 saw a 23% growth in Jeep club membership numbers.

A 25% increase in the number of Jeep community outings.

A 27% increase in the number of volunteering marshals.

A 15% increase in the number of women participating in community events and a 10% increase in whole-family participation.

+16% sales in Jan/Feb 2022

+ 285% sales in Apr/May 2022

+ 37% sales in June 2022

13,000 website visits

37,000 Morse Code translations

1,000 downloads of the Jeep Morse Font

Our campaign was picked up by major industry blogs and magazines across the world.

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