Media Week success for Co-op, Cadbury and Vodafone

Last night, we joined over 800 of Medialand’s elite for the 2022 Campaign Media Week Awards, walking away with three gongs at the end of the night.

The awards celebrated the best media campaigns, agencies and teams over the past 12 months.

Our work with Mondelēz’s Cadbury Wispa for their ‘New Type of Gold’ campaign scooped top honours in the Media Idea: Launch, Co-op’s ‘Live Christmas Ad’ partnership with ITV won Gold in Media Idea: £250K-£1M. And Vodafone made it a hattrick with their ‘Reboxing Day’ campaign, scooping Silver for Media Idea: £250K-£1M.

Gold | Media Idea: Launch

Trading cryptocurrency and investing had become a breakout trend for Gen Z, according to TikTok and Meta. Carat used this insight to launch the Cadbury Wispa Gold Hazelnut chocolate bar, with a play on the product’s name by asking consumers to invest in ‘A new type of gold’. 

This campaign was all about launching the new bar in the world of finance, playing into the tropes of cryptocurrency and playing off financial news channels to encourage the target audience to seek out the new bar. Chocolate fans could ‘invest’ and secure #WispaGoldHF shares, with a chocolate payout at the end of the campaign.

Buzz and excitement were created around the campaign with the chance to buy shares on Twitter before the chocolate bar was released. Lucky shareholders could watch the share value fluctuate and receive daily updates live and direct from the @CadburyUK Twitter account. The more popular the hashtag became, the greater the ‘share price’ and, therefore, the greater the return.

Ads tracking the share price were published in newspapers, and YouTube sensation turned political campaigner Niko Omilana had his say to raise awareness. Share price reached six bars per share, and the campaign achieved thousands of tweets.

Judges said the campaign was a great example of “launching a product around current trends and what people are buying into”. They said: “This was clever and innovative and showed smart use of creative execution to engage customers.”

Gold | Media Idea: £250K-£1M

Co-op wanted to highlight how community fridges aren’t objects but special places that come to life through the people who use and support them. They are real locations where locals gather, share food, learn to cook and support one another. 

Co-op decided to broadcast a live ad to show the world what was happening in a community fridge. The ad launched in Coronation Street’s centre break, with a 10-second ‘ITV Proudly Presents’ continuity introduction. ITV’s Dermot O’Leary then hosted a two-minute ad, beaming live from the Afghanistan and Central Asian Association’s community fridge, which the local Feltham Co-op directly supports. It featured volunteers, customers, and celebrity DJ, rapper and chef Big Zuu in the hubbub of the vibrant centre.

Viewers could experience the warmth and buzz of those sharing meals and conversation, with volunteers explaining that the fridge helps avoid food wastage and that anyone in the community can use it. Teaser ads had aired a few days before the live ad to create interest. Further content, with more details of Co-op’s support, went live across social, print and digital after the broadcast moment itself.

Judges said the campaign delivered strong results and “brought to life the essential work that the Co-op is doing”. 

Silver | Media Idea: £250K-£1M

Vodafone wanted to address digital poverty issues and launched ‘Everyone. Connected’, an initiative geared to provide those who are digitally excluded with free internet-enabled sim cards and a device. The campaign needed to make people understand that digital poverty is an issue and make people care enough to donate their old devices.

The campaign – a 30-second ITV ad, VoD and social content drive fronted by Roman Kemp, launched on Boxing Day, which was originally created as a day for charitable giving. It rebranded the day as ‘Reboxing Day’ and encouraged people who had been given a new mobile at Christmas to rebox and donate old devices.

In true awards night fashion, we would like to thank our exceptional Carat UK teams, our clients for allowing us to be a part of such innovative and purposeful campaigns, and of course, our fantastic partners, The Story Lab, Lucky Generals, ITV and Twitter, who have helped bring these campaigns to life.