Some lessons being taught at the Cannes Lions International Advertising Festival this week (June 21-27) are that bigger is not always better, and that doing more with less deserves to be rewarded.
CumminsNitro, an Australian ad agency, took home the coveted PR Lions Grand Prix and Direct Lions Grand Prix for its “Best Job in the World” campaign, created for Tourism Queensland. The basis of the campaign, with a budget of only $1.2 million, was a want-ad for the role of “Island Caretaker” (aka “Best Job in the World“) for the islands of the Great Barrier Reef in Australia.
Despite its simple approach, the campaign received massive feedback. Tourism Queensland received roughly 35,000 applications for the position from over 200 different countries, on top of an estimated $100 million worth of media coverage during the campaign. Not bad for a glorified want-ad.
The “Best Job” campaign, while rooted in the want-ad, also received help via traditional and non-traditional methods. The ad was a popular topic and was covered by news channels in several different countries, providing the strong, traditional reach of the campaign. However, the applicants were required to submit a 60 second video clip as their application, and these were YouTube hits. This balanced coverage provided a nice blend of new/old for the campaign. CumminsNitro also capitalized on the timing, launching a want-ad when jobs are hard to come by, and people around the world are searching.
All in all, CumminsNitro’s campaign far exceeded expectations and has put Tourism Queensland on the “map”. The winner of the contest has recently been selected, and will be recording a blog during his tenure as Island Caretaker.
What simple campaigns have you come across? Do you know of any that have experienced success far greater than anticipated? Would you apply for a job similar to the “Best Job in the World”?
