It’s my eleventh birthday, I am kitted out in the latest tween fashions complete with butterfly clips and a puffy synthetic bomber jacket. I am on my way to Ratanga Junction for the first time and despite the Venga Boys blaring in the background, the car ride is sheer agony. I have been waiting my entire life to ride a rollercoaster so 20 measly minutes shouldn’t matter- but it does. After horrendous ticket lines and begrudgingly heeding my mom’s haunting advice of “always save the best for last” I’ve made it to the lurid yellow monument of exhilaration lovingly dubbed The Cobra…and then I see the line.
Waiting sucks. It just does.
Find me someone who enjoys waiting in a line at the traffic department
or on the phone to Telkom and I will find you a liar. Throughout my life I have
experienced the heartache associated with waiting. I waited for J.k Rowling for
years between her books. I even waited/am still waiting for my Hogwarts letter (I am
sure the owl just got lost). In my adult life I have waited in a five hour
queue for my tax number, but even more devastating is having to wait for Game of
Thrones to buffer every single bloody week. With all my experience in waiting and the misery
it has caused me I can undeniably, unequivocally affirm the notion that waiting
really does suck.
First Choice (better known for their environmentally
friendly milk) agrees with me. They know that asking a child to wait hours for
jelly to set is just cruel and unreasonable and so these champions of chow came
up with SA’s first already-set jelly in a box. Boomtown, a South African brand
strategy agency has brought this harrowing insight to
life with a series of fun brightly-coloured print ads.
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| First Choice Already-set Jelly, "Because Waiting Sucks" by Boomtown, South Africa |
We can all relate to these ads, even if we haven't gone through those specific situations. Waiting in long lines to fun rides. Waiting for dad to blowup the jumping castle while all your friends look on with fervent anticipation. Waiting for the pool to fill up on a sweltering day when all you want is instant refreshment. Too much waiting! We want our fun and we want it NOW.
The creatives came up with a pay-off line that kids (and adults alike) can relate to. "Because waiting sucks" neatly and succinctly sums up the insight into why people should buy First Choice All-ready Set Jelly. My only qualm is that this campaign was launched at roughly the same time that Saatchi and Saatchi New Zealand launched their Texa allergy medication "Sneezing sucks" campaign. While it was an overseas ad for a very different target market it still detracts from the unique feel I originally associated with this campaign.
Jelly comes in an array of awesome jewel-bright colours. This is showcased by the well-considered colour palate chosen by the art director for the ads. For instance the jumping castle ad uses pink jelly for their pay-off line and then uses a huge, predominantly pink half blown-up jumping castle as the ads main focus. This colour scheme is further supported by the pink and yellow balloons and the pink outfit that one of the models are wearing. The fact that all the ads are set outdoors really emphasises this colour-centric design as the natural, bright lighting makes the colours pop nicely.
One component that I particularly enjoy is the treatment used on the pay-off line. "Because waiting sucks" has been carved out of a block of already-set jelly towering over a pack shot of the product. It is effective and aesthetically pleasing while serving the double purpose of showing the product and communicating the ads insight in an interesting way.
The Boomtown creatives chose children as the subject of frustration because as adults, we are expected to be able to deal with trivial things like waiting for jelly to set while children can display their unadulterated disdain without shame. They also use children because, while their parents pay for it, they are the main jelly consumers. The kids really convey their feelings effectively and their waiting-induced frustration is palpable.
Ads like this are light and fun while still being universally insightful. Sometimes I think that I can spot a South African ad from a mile away but this one was harder to spot mostly because of the quality- which to me was of international standards.
This review has given me the worst jelly craving. Too bad I have to wait until college is over. Grrrrr
The creatives came up with a pay-off line that kids (and adults alike) can relate to. "Because waiting sucks" neatly and succinctly sums up the insight into why people should buy First Choice All-ready Set Jelly. My only qualm is that this campaign was launched at roughly the same time that Saatchi and Saatchi New Zealand launched their Texa allergy medication "Sneezing sucks" campaign. While it was an overseas ad for a very different target market it still detracts from the unique feel I originally associated with this campaign.
Jelly comes in an array of awesome jewel-bright colours. This is showcased by the well-considered colour palate chosen by the art director for the ads. For instance the jumping castle ad uses pink jelly for their pay-off line and then uses a huge, predominantly pink half blown-up jumping castle as the ads main focus. This colour scheme is further supported by the pink and yellow balloons and the pink outfit that one of the models are wearing. The fact that all the ads are set outdoors really emphasises this colour-centric design as the natural, bright lighting makes the colours pop nicely.
One component that I particularly enjoy is the treatment used on the pay-off line. "Because waiting sucks" has been carved out of a block of already-set jelly towering over a pack shot of the product. It is effective and aesthetically pleasing while serving the double purpose of showing the product and communicating the ads insight in an interesting way.
The Boomtown creatives chose children as the subject of frustration because as adults, we are expected to be able to deal with trivial things like waiting for jelly to set while children can display their unadulterated disdain without shame. They also use children because, while their parents pay for it, they are the main jelly consumers. The kids really convey their feelings effectively and their waiting-induced frustration is palpable.
Ads like this are light and fun while still being universally insightful. Sometimes I think that I can spot a South African ad from a mile away but this one was harder to spot mostly because of the quality- which to me was of international standards.
This review has given me the worst jelly craving. Too bad I have to wait until college is over. Grrrrr
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