MTV CAPTAIN'S SHACK

TitleMTV CAPTAIN'S SHACK
BrandDIAGEO INDIA
Product / ServiceCAPTAIN MORGAN RUM
CategoryA02. Best Non-Fiction Program, Series or Film where a client has successfully created a reality, document
EntrantBBH INDIA Mumbai, INDIA
Entrant Company:BBH INDIA Mumbai, INDIA
Contributing Company:BBH INDIA Mumbai, INDIA
Contributing Company:VIACOM 18 mumbai, INDIA

Credits

Name Company Position
Raj Kamble Bbh India Managing Partner
Russell Barrett Bbh India Executive Creative Director
Rajesh Joshi Diageo India Senior Brand Manager
Rajshekar Patil Bbh India Copywriter
Ganesh Nayak Bbh India Art Director
Darshan Choudhry Bbh India Art Director
Rajeev Roy Bbh India Account Manager
Arvind Krishnan Bbh India Account Director

The Campaign

In India, advertising for alcohol is banned. So all alcohol brands create surrogate products in their name and are content with creating conventional TV commercials for them. Surrogates like holiday packages, bottled water, music cd's etc., products which mostly have no connection with the alcohol brand. The result is that, there is no alcohol communication that is truly transparent and engaging at the same time.

Results

CHALLENGE: How to create awareness for Captain Morgan Rum in a market where alcohol advertising is banned? THE SOLUTION: Instead of a short cut solution, we created an engagement platform. A reality show that connected with youngsters in the 18-25 age group. And built around the DNA of Captain Morgan - camaraderie, inventive thinking and harmless fun. IMPLEMENTATION: We joined hands with MTV to create MTV Captain's Shack, a 12-part series that was aired on the music channel. The host of the show was none other than Captain Morgan himself. To drive participation for MTV Captain's Shack, we created an innovative awareness campaign. The ads were resignation letters and goodbye letters written by participants who were headed to a life in the beach shack. We created a Facebook app where the Captain asked participants to post pictures of themselves in the classic Captain's pose. The innovativeness of the campaign created a buzz. And the prospect of owning the Shack on the beaches of Goa drew thousands to participate. The show debuted on MTV to an enthusiastic response across India. Conversations spiked on social media with people talking about the charismatic Captain and shouting support for their favorite participants. Captain Morgan's ship had made a dramatic landing on to the Indian shores!

For Captain Morgan Rum, instead of another mindless surrogate, we created an engagement platform - a television reality show in which a beach shack was up for grabs. The show was created with MTV and featured 12 participants selected from around India. The participants had to complete challenges which were thrown to them by 'the Captain', a boisterous buccaneer who symbolises the brand. The person to display the most Captain-like qualities would get to run the beautiful beach shack in Goa. The novelty of the show and the prospect of owning a beach shack got thousands of youngsters interested.

The brand engagement created by Captain's Shack was far greater and long-lasting than any surrogate alcohol campaign ever created in India. Captain Morgan became the most ordered rum in pubs during the months when the show was on air. The show gave the brand mileage worth more than 1200 TV commercials, but at a tiny fraction of the cost. But more importantly, it proved that what alcohol brands need is not short cuts like surrogates, but powerful ideas. We can proudly claim that the Captain's Shack has forever changed the way alcohol is advertised in India.