Captain Morgan Encourages Everyone to Swap Screen Time For Quality Time

Captain Morgan is today launching its new global through the line campaign, ‘Thumbs’, that encourages people to look up from their screens and connect with friends. In a world of endless scrolling, the campaign celebrates the power of fun and connection that’s created when people get together with their crew in real life.

The new 360 campaign, initially launching in Canada before rolling out to Great Britain, is the next chapter of the brand’s Spice On platform that champions the unique spice that each person brings to the table. With 83% of gen z craving in-person interactions[1] but three in four saying they spend more time than they’d like on their phone,[2] ‘Thumbs’ responds to an ever-growing desire for social connection, using the fun and spice of Captain Morgan to celebrate bonding with friends in the real world.

The new advert heroes a group of thumbs mindlessly scrolling on their phones before spotting a post for a Captain Morgan beach party on social media that triggers a string of messages in the group chat. Captured from the point of view of the thumbs, the group quickly get ready and take their humans to meet up with one another.

Setting the tone for the advert is a playful take on the 2000’s classic ‘Thong Song’ re-recorded by vocalist TemuMusic and produced by Jordan Crisp with new lyrics that add humour and nostalgia in equal doses. Aptly named, ‘Thumb Song’, the soundtrack to the campaign puts a fun Captain Morgan twist on the original track. 

To encourage people to swap screen time for quality time and meet up with their crew, Captain Morgan is staging a series of cultural activations around the world over the coming months that encourage friends to come together and celebrate the power of connecting in real life. From pop up bars in places notorious for having no phone signal to a giant musical thumb in downtown city locations, each activation will help reduce the endless scroll in favour of bringing people together to build closer bonds with their friends.

To bring the 360-campaign to life across social media, content creators from around the world will give followers an inside look at the secret life of their thumb through the Thumb Tales content series, emphasising all the things that can be done if less time was spent scrolling.

Samori Gambrah, global brand director at Captain Morgan commented:

“As a brand that celebrates spice and the unique character that each of us brings to the table, creating a campaign that encourages people to stop mindlessly scrolling in favour of meeting up with their friends in the real world was important to us. It’s during these real-world moments that we can all be our authentic selves and really appreciate what each of our friends brings to our crew.”

Captain Morgan worked with Anomaly in the development of the new campaign alongside director Keith Scofield who brought to life the fun and absurd nature of the creative in a visual way that speaks to the Captain Morgan brand.

Camilla Harrisson, CEO of Anomaly added:

"In today's context of mindless scrolling, our thumbs give a fresh take on the oldest truth in the book - that nothing beats the joy of coming together with your mates IRL. And what better backing track than the 'Thumb Song' to set the vibe."

Launching today in Canada before rolling out to Great Britain in the New Year, ‘Thumbs’ will come to life as a full 360 campaign that spans TV, BVOD, OOH, digital, social and influencer activity as well as large in-market culture activations that bring people together with their crew in real life.