Then we got it - we had the solution that would not only get people to read the ad, they would also be able to imagine Tassimo in their homes. Problem was we didn’t know if we could do it. We did know if we were able to convince the publishers and the editors to sell us something that wasn’t for sale we had to do it.The showstopper idea is simple, smart and interactive. A clear acetate overlay of the Tassimo brewer inserted before an editorial image of a kitchen countertop, thereby laying the coffee maker on top of the counter. This program involved dozens of meetings with publishers, editors and senior agency staff including our CEO in order to navigate the church/state divide. The logistics went beyond the pale – after getting buy-in from the most respected players, the executional logistics almost killed the idea ten times over.Insights, Strategy & the IdeaChallenge: Build penetration of upgraded and stylish new Bosch-Tassimo brewer without alienating previous purchasers.

Existing creative focused on functional benefits: variety, simplicity and features. We developed a solution that would dramatically increase readership of the ad page and engage them to imagine Tassimo in their home.Target was middle/high income women juggling job/children/home. They love the idea of going to Starbucks for specialty coffee but struggle to find time. Our consumer was looking for ways to bring premium out of home experiences into their homes. Given our lean budget and challenging circumstances, magazines would provide a perfectly relevant/effective environment. We needed to break-through the mass of holiday clutter and functional appliance ads to overcome the syndrome we coined ‘disinterested page flipping and ad skipping’. Ad avoidance gets a lot of play when it comes to TV but we knew that boring static print has long since suffered the same fate.

With half the budget of the original launch effort, the results were phenomenal. Independent research verified: 100% of readers either agreed or strongly agreed (80%) that it was different from other ads they have EVER seen. There was 42% lift in purchase intent and 46% lift in brand favourability scores among readers.The campaign was featured in multiple trade and consumer publications/blogs both for its innovation and as a catalyst for debate surrounding ad/edit boundaries.Finally this campaign was the first to ever execute this type of integrated content piece in all of North America (verified) and likely the world.