Commuters Journey Underground in innocent’s New Soil Health Campaign

innocent Drinks, Europe’s leading healthy drinks company, is taking commuters on a journey deep into the earth in a new immersive campaign to raise awareness of the importance of healthy soil.

Digital advertising formats immerse passengers at three major Elizabeth line stations in an alternative “underground” environment that highlights the important part soil health plays in protecting the supply of fruit and vegetables, so they can continue to be part of sustainable healthy diets for future generations.

“We love the Underground” was the winning entry for Global’s “Look Ahead” competition, in partnership with Contagious and Transport for London. Calling for a creative concept that takes rail passengers on an unforgettable journey underground, innocent Drinks won over a field of 40 entrants and was the only in-house agency to be shortlisted.

The creative ideation was inspired by innocent’s “Farmer Innovation Fund”, which is making £1 million available in grants to its suppliers for regenerative agriculture projects. innocent’s literal take on the competition brief spotlights soil health in a playful and human way.

The campaign journey has been designed to help strengthen the connection between innocent’s drinkers and growers whilst raising awareness of the importance of soil.

The escalator ribbons create an illusion of heading down through the fertile ground and champion the role of soil in food production. The journey culminates on the platform, where passengers can scan a QR code to receive free seeds and learn about innocent’s work to protect soil health through its Farmer Innovation Fund and the Aga Khan Foundation.

The campaign will run for two weeks and is displayed on the digital gateway, digital runway and digital escalator ribbon screens across Elizabeth line stations at Bond Street, Tottenham Court Road, and Farringdon.

Carol Feeley, executive creative director at innocent Drinks, said, “This campaign does the important job of showing our passion for fruit and veg but it also highlights our commitment to invest in regenerative farming practices for the long term. Without the underground, we wouldn’t exist. We rely on fruit and veg to make our drinks, and both need healthy soil to grow. That's why we recently relaunched our Farmer Innovation Fund, offering £1 million in grants to support regenerative agriculture projects within our supply chain.

“The competition brief was to take commuters on a journey underground, so we thought we’d literally do that by taking commuters deep into the soil in a campaign called “We love the Underground”. It’s a great example of our distinctive tone and voice and communicating in a playful and unexpected way. We hope the campaign inspires passengers to take good care of what’s underground so we can all keep enjoying fruit and veg for years to come.”

Anto Chioccarelli, Global’s creative director for Outdoor and one of the judges of the Contagious competition said, “All the judges were in agreement that innocent should win the competition. It’s a perfect example of a campaign designed specifically for Elizabeth line stations, from huge digital gateway screens to full-motion escalator ribbons. The marketing and creative teams at innocent truly considered the unique underground environment and created not just a campaign, but a rich experience for commuters.

“The campaign is a powerful creative idea that’s both engaging and warm. It blends entertainment with education about the crucial role healthy soil plays in nourishing the fruits used in innocent's drinks. It uses storytelling to connect with commuters on an emotional level, making the message memorable and impactful.”

Chris Reader, head of commercial media at TfL said, “The submissions for the Look Ahead competition were fantastic, showcasing immense creativity. Among them, Innocent's winning design stood out because it not only captivated visually, but also used engaging messaging to embrace the nature of our estate and its unique positioning in a really effective way. They are a deserving winner.”