ÜrVápe
Q: How do you get teens to tune into messaging they’re actively trying to avoid?
A: You trick ‘em into it. Disguised as content they willingly consume every day.
Ah, to be a teenager again. Where the only thing more enticing than breaking the rules is breaking your lungs. Apparently, nearly 3 million high schoolers and middle schoolers have jumped on the vaping bandwagon. Someone should convince them to stop but, as we know, teens rarely listen to authority figures. So, we decided to take a different approach and sent some fake products to the people who actually hold some sway over them - social media influencers.We even went as far as to create an "unboxing video" for their followers to watch. Their reactions were hilarious, but we made sure to hit them with a sobering message: no matter how it’s packaged, “ur vape” is affecting you. Beauty box:
Our totally-not-real company, ÜrVápe, also sent local beauty influencers a PR package from its latest collection, 'If Looks Could Kill.' But there was a twist - instead of making them look gorgeous, each product was specially formulated to mimic the effects of vaping. You know, things like foundation that made their skin look like it had been wrinkled by time, under eye concealer that turned their eyes into dark, hollow pits, and a "brightening" liner that gave them that oh-so-sexy red-rimmed look. Oh, and let's not forget the lip tint that made them look like they were completely devoid of blood flow. Needless to say, the teens we sent it to quickly figured out that vaping isn't exactly a one-way ticket to hotness. But hey, at least they looked like they were living that grunge life, right?
Sports box:
The gag products in our sports box were equally entertaining. We had a nasal strip that made breathing feel like sucking air through a coffee stirrer, a sports watch that made them feel like Usain Bolt (if he were running through quicksand), a tennis racket that turned them into terrible fishermen, and a basketball that weighed more than they did. And get this, folks - our totally legit fake company, ÜrVápe (read: Ur Vape), was behind it all. The teens we sent it to figured out pretty quickly that our products were less about enhancing their athletic performance and more about making them look like the court's walking punchline. Who needs to be a pro athlete anyway when vaping makes you feel like this?
Responsibilities: ACD (COPYWRITING) // CONCEPTING // IDEA
Agency: Cronin
Partners: Eric Silver (ECD), Margot Belyea, (AD), Kate Anderson (BRAND), Melissa DeMello (INFLUENCER MGMNT)