Behind the Toronto Billboard Offering a Cheestring Trade
On Tuesday August 2nd, a Cheestring ad took over Toronto. Displaying across the Yonge-Dundas Square billboard - one of the biggest electronic billboards in the city - the following text was posted:
FOR TRADE: One Cheestring
Accepting trades for one Cheestring. Marble flavour. Still in original packaging.
No lowballs. I know what I have. 647-407-0938
Ran for three days, the billboard saw over 213 million earned media impressions, including major outlets like New York post, Global News and HuffPost. In that time, over 1,000 offers were made to the provided phone number which belonged to actor Joey Harlem - who had been hired to play the role of 48-year-old professional trader Angel Domingo. These offers ranged from someone’s pregnant girlfriend to a New York-based radio station offering Angel his own show.
The stunt was part of Black Diamond Cheestrings’ new ‘Keep it Cheesy’ campaign, which was created by Broken Heart Love Affair. Made with the express purpose of invoking the nostalgia for the childhood fun that came with trading Cheestrings, the billboard ad was only the start of the campaign, which would go on to be supported by a TV spot, online video, a social campaign and OOH. Specifically, the TV spot, 'Lunch Trade,' used the insight that Cheestrings make every day more playful, and features office workers trying to one-up each other on a trade for a Cheestring.
BHLA creative directors Jordan Hamer and Spencer Ryan, with marketing director, Black Diamond & Tablespreads Enrique Larez sat down with LBB’s Josh Neufeldt to speak about how this project was brought to life.
LBB> The obvious point of discussion would be the billboard stunt. Tell us more about that. How did this idea come about, and what was the reaction to this initial idea?
Spencer> The script for the TV spot came first, so we wanted the billboard stunt to involve trading in some way. Then we realised the most relatable version of trading is already everywhere - through online classified ads - so we kept it simple.
Enrique> We loved it from the start! We were particularly excited about the opportunity to engage directly with people.
LBB> Enrique, what kind of brief did you give BHLA, and what research and strategy drove it?
Enrique> Through extensive research, the team came up with a very interesting insight; we no longer give ourselves permission to play, and we take life very seriously. Cheestrings is grounded in fun, and our message is to invite play. Peeling a Cheestring brings out everyone's inner kid.
LBB> Why was a non-traditional campaign like this right for your brand?
Enrique> We were interested in evolving our positioning and developing new communication that would disrupt the category. This campaign fits perfectly with our goal.
Our idea with the billboard was to engage directly with people wanting to trade for this one Cheestring. This is why we made it look the way we did. We like to think that even if people suspected it was a marketing stunt, they chose to play along because it was fun.
LBB> How did you go about getting the billboard out into the world at the right time and place?
Jordan> We knew we wanted to launch the billboard stunt just before the TV spot went live, rather than after, so it would feel less expected. The billboard was placed in a very visible and high traffic location in downtown Toronto. It was strategically placed so the public and the media (some with offices right across the street) would take notice organically - and they did. And the Cheestrings brand had a credit for an outdoor buy, so the framework was already partially in place to make it happen quickly.
LBB> Building on the choice of billboard location, what led to you deciding on Yonge-Dundas Square? In a city that has many high traffic locations, was it always the first choice, or were there other options that you considered?
Spencer> The idea of putting such a strange ‘for trade’ ad on a billboard was already absurd, so we pushed for the biggest billboard we could get to take it to the next level and make it unignorable.
LBB> We’re intrigued about the design - where did you look for inspiration for how your ‘ad’ should look?
Spencer> We definitely took inspiration from common online buy/sell/trade websites, with their straightforward and function-first design. We wanted it to feel like it was just a screenshot taken off one of those websites and put straight onto a billboard without much other thought.
LBB> According to the most recent spot, the ad received over 1000 return offers and had more than 213 million social media impressions. What are those numbers looking like right now? And did you expect such an overwhelming response?
Jordan> We really had no idea what to expect, but we really hoped it would get some traction. As far as the number of offers goes, that’s slowed down since the buy ended and we revealed the campaign, but the odd voicemail and text still comes in.
Enrique> Honestly, we lost count!
LBB> Casting Joey Harlem to play the trader, Angel Domingo, was a clever idea. How did you come across Joey? And why was he the right man for the job?
Jordan> Joey was put forward by Mann Casting here in Toronto, and he was a great recommendation. He was super quick on his feet - thinking of responses to strange trades Spencer and I threw at him in his audition, and he took things to a place we weren’t expecting. He was certainly a wildcard, but we loved that about him and it worked out very well.
LBB> What was the craziest trade offer you came across?
Jordan> Maybe not the craziest, but my personal favourite was someone offering dinner with their own mother. There were definitely some crazy ones we shouldn’t mention, and we’ll leave it at that.
Enrique> Someone else offered a yacht, and someone else offered their girlfriend!
LBB> Much of this campaign has been built around the idea of childhood nostalgia and trading Cheestrings. Where did this idea come from, and how did it factor into the writing process for the TV ad?
Spencer> It came from our own experiences as kids in school, (far too many) years ago trading our snacks with our friends. We knew other people would identify with it, and Cheestrings were always one of the best snacks you could have in that situation.
LBB> In the TV ad, a lot of the pitched ideas for trades are outlandish and hilarious, such as cthulhu. What was the writing process like, and how did you come up with these ideas?
Jordan> Since the platform we created is ‘Keep it Cheesy’, we wanted the offers to escalate into the outlandish things you mentioned. But, we also had to make sure there was something of a logical progression to the things being offered so the story made sense. As for how we came up with them, Spencer and I are just kinda dumb weirdos and they made us laugh.
LBB> According to the credit list, Fugitives directed the TV ad. Who are they? What did they bring to the table, and why were they perfect to direct the spot?
Spencer> Fugitives is Jordan and myself. We are Fugitives. We’ve gotten more into directing our own work to have better control over the creative vision from beginning to end, while making sure our clients get what they need. And so far it’s working out well, and clients are trusting us with that.
LBB> What challenges have you faced during this project? How did you overcome them?
Jordan> The biggest challenge was figuring out how to tip off the media about the billboard without it coming from the brand or a PR agency. So we had to get a little crafty, but it worked out in the end. For the most part, the media pickup really bought into Angel having put the billboard up himself.
Enrique> Angel had trouble keeping up with all the phone calls and text messages he received!
LBB> What has the response to the campaign been like? How has the perception of your brand changed since you launched this campaign?
Enrique> It’s been very positive. We are delighted with the results this campaign achieved, and we are inspired to continue backing our brands with these types of executions: deeply rooted in context, original and disruptive.
LBB> What would you trade a Cheestring for?
Jordan> Nothing. I know what I have.
Enrique> In my books, nothing is worth trading a Cheestring for.
LBB> Is there anything you’d like to add?
Enrique> I’m curious. If you absolutely had to, what would you trade for a Cheestring?
