Hypnosis Takes an Absurdly Unexpected Turn in Droga5's Witty Campaign

Droga5 London has created a global brand campaign for Setapp, a subscription service providing access to 190+ creative, productivity and maintenance apps for Macs, iPhones and iPads to help users complete any task.  

The new ‘Don’t Get Sidetracked. Get Setapp’ campaign revolves around three comic films, directed by award-winning director Jeff Low, each showing the absurdly dramatic consequences of someone failing to finish what they started. 

In ‘Snake’ a man with a phobia of snakes is hypnotised into thinking he has become one and is left in a snake-like state as his therapist gets distracted. In ‘Hide & Seek’, a father starts a game of hide and seek with his son but is waylaid and leaves him behind a curtain to grow old. In ‘Disappearance’, a magician makes a man disappear but fails to bring him back, leaving his wife to spend the rest of her days searching for him.

The three films are supported by an all-new look and feel for the brand. Developed in-house by Droga5 London, the design draws upon the visual language of the internet using familiar cues such as loading bars and pop ups to express the campaign idea. The design will be seen across film, static, display and social and features work from established artists including Tyler Spangler, Eva Cremers, Elena Xausa, Damien Weighill, Leanne Rule, Alex Tait, Matthew Cooper and Walter Newton.

The campaign launches globally on August 18th online and across social channels to attract new audiences to the brand.

The new campaign is Setapp’s first major brand push since launching three years ago. It marks a new direction in Setapp’s marketing – to build mass brand awareness, in contrast to its previous purely performance-based approach. 

Oleksandr Kosovan, Setapp CEO and founder, said: “This new campaign is the perfect intro to Setapp, playing on how productivity tools provide focus, a core value Setapp gives individual and business users, including remote workers.” 

Ed Redgrave, Droga5 London creative director, said: “If you’re reading this it’s entirely probable you’ve started some other task and then become distracted and ended up here. If that’s you - or if that’s ever been you - you need Setapp. A suite of apps to help you complete any task.” 

Yaroslav Stepanenko, product marketing manager and head of growth at Setapp, said: “Droga5 London was the right team to deliver against this vision – there was a click from the first meeting and it was obvious this was the team to work with. 

“This campaign ushers in a new era for the Setapp brand with disruptive creativity that sets to serve a humorous reminder of the importance of finishing every task.”