Morton Salt is an iconic brand, but because it hasn’t done any major advertising in nearly 60 years many people perceive it as outdated. Morton knew it needed to make its brand, and product, relevant again. But how do you make something as seemingly insignificant and commoditized as salt worth talking about? Partnering with OK Go was the first component of the idea—to create something radical and untraditional for a 168-year-old salt brand. The next step was to create a video that elevated what Morton has been doing for decades—making small moments better and brighter. This came to life in a 4.2 second music video that revealed over 4 minutes of jaw-dropping wonder. The video captured how something so seemingly small and insignificant—just like salt—could still hold an amazing amount of impact.

Working with OK Go and leveraging their fan base not only enabled us to engage with millennials, but also helped maximize a limited media budget by using OK Go’s owned channels as part of our media distribution plan. Leading up to launch, OK Go teased content daily. The video then launched exclusively on Facebook for the first 48 hours. As the first 4.2 seconds of the video are so visually disruptive, the video was essentially designed to be skippable-proof, maximizing views and shares on social media. The video was then followed by a behind-the-scenes video and live Facebook Q&A event with the lead singer to further engage and captivate audiences. The social launch was complimented by a multimedia release from CBS news affiliates to help magnify the reach of our message. And to complete the media blitz, OK Go performed on the Late Show with Stephen Colbert.

Within 24 hours, The One Moment had almost 15 million views and was trending on Facebook. Two weeks later, it was named one of 2016’s most viral ads of the year, surpassing ads that had been live for 11 months longer. Today, The One Moment has over 42 million views, 370,000 likes and 285,000 shares. Even the behind-the-scenes content, which runs 5 minutes in length, has more than 575,000 views. The video garnered more than 1.1 billion PR and social impressions with 48% of all views being from video shares. Most importantly, Morton saw a 245% lift in brand conversations and a 10% uplift in brand favorability. From an unnoticed, outdated salt company to a modern, viral trailblazer, Morton surpassed all expectations and achieved their goal of not only reinvigorating their brand, but captivating the world’s attention.