Why is this work relevant for Media?

Google Assistant’s voice platform allows creators to build third-party voice apps, games and experiences. We hijacked this medium and turned it on its head. For the first time ever, Google Assistant can now do the exact opposite of what it was meant to do. Instead of providing information and helping users become more productive, the new “Do Nothing Mode” makes Google Assistant kill all productivity, and convince users to just sit back, relax and do nothing. This unexpected intervention captured the imagination of the internet, and created unprecedented buzz around the brand and its unique proposition.

Background

While most brands in recent times have been urging young people to ‘do something’ to change their lives or change the world, a chocolate bar called 5 Star has stood for the exact opposite. With the tagline “Do Nothing”, 5 Star has been reminding the youth that sometimes the best thing one can do is sit back and do nothing. Our task was to bring this message alive for our predominantly young audience.

Describe the creative idea / insights (30% of vote)

Voice assistants have rapidly gained popularity in India, and have been helping people become more efficient and productive. But sometimes, what we REALLY need is some perspective - A voice of reason that motivates us to step out of the rat race, take a breather, and just do nothing for a while. And now, Google can be that voice of reason. All one has to say is “Okay Google, Eat a 5Star” on any android phone or device, and the assistant will enter the “Do Nothing Mode”. Instead of helping you with your tasks, it will now dissuade you from doing them. Whatever you try to do, the assistant will give you a reason not to - and the hundreds of possible responses range from convincing to sassy to profound. We partnered with Google to create what is probably the first ever-AI designed to help you do nothing.

Describe the strategy (20% of vote)

The primary target audience is under 25. Mobile phone penetration has been growing exponentially in India, and so has Google’s ability to fully support Indian languages. As a result, Google’s voice assistant has become extremely popular. We decided to seize this opportunity by making it do the exact opposite of what it’s expected to do. We partnered with Google and created a multilingual AI bot on the voice platform which can respond to any kind of question one might ask - about the weather, traffic, emails, schedules, trivia, beauty tips or even life advice. It is designed to tackle potentially thousands of questions, with witty, sassy and insightful responses that nudge the user to just take some time off and do nothing. For the first time ever, Google Assistant can now do the exact opposite of what it was meant to do.

Describe the execution (20% of vote)

For over a decade, 5 Star commercials have featured people eating the chocolate, getting lost in the moment, and doing nothing at all. On December 15 2020, Google famously faced a global outage where its services went down for a few hours, leaving the entire world fuming. We used this perfect opportunity to launch our campaign with a simple message - “Sorry, internet. The 5Star was meant only for the assistant.” Right after, Do Nothing Mode was promoted with an integrated digital campaign which included a series of digital films, web banners, and contextual pre-roll ads on Youtube. Since Google assistant comes built-in with every android phone, thousands of users from across the country have been engaging with the experience, at any given moment.

List the results (30% of vote)

Within a week, over 300,000 users started using the Do Nothing mode. Over 5 million interactions have occurred so far, and the number grows rapidly every day as the campaign is still ongoing. The news of Google gaining a ‘do nothing’ mode caught the world’s attention, and the story was featured in over 100 websites around the world. Several popular tech vloggers with millions of subscribers, got curious about it, and featured the innovation in their videos. Online communities have popped up where users exchange their funniest interactions with the product. Most importantly, “Eat 5star and do nothing”, has become common parlance, and has found its way into memes and tweets, giving the chocolate brand unprecedented visibility.