"Unilever's Wall's Ice Cream launched a new global brand idea "Goodbye Serious" in 2013 to give the much-loved global brand a more relevant role in today's relentless world. Everyone has little moments in their day when they need to say 'goodbye to serious' and Wall's is aiming to own these moments with their range of joyful ice creams.

To prove this, we enlisted the help of the sheriff’s department in the small town of Quincy, California. Being a cop is tough. Nobody’s ever happy to see flashing police lights in their rearview mirror. And everyone knows what a tense, nerve-wracking experience a traffic stop is. But instead of citations, the police in Quincy handed out Wall’s ice creams. Much to the delight (and relief) of the people they pulled over, who were told that they stood accused of behaving too' seriously'.

Goodbye Serious is launching in multiple markets with many different creative executions and activations in 2014.”

Wall’s, the world’s biggest ice cream brand, had something to prove: that a little ice cream can bring a smile to even the most serious situation. And what’s more serious than being pulled over by a police officer? Our twist: instead of citations, our officer was going to hand out ice cream.

In order to pull the stunt off, we knew we needed a real police officer. Someone familiar with official law enforcement procedure. Who felt authentic and could be intimidating if necessary. He needed to be able to think on his feet. Be likable and sympathetic, with a good sense of humor. Importantly, he needed to be able to play it straight and not give the joke away until the perfect moment.

Simultaneously, we were casting for an entire town. We couldn’t be sure who we’d ensnare with our random traffic stops, but we wanted to start with a small, charming town of friendly people who like to laugh and appreciate a good joke.

We eliminated large cities. We eliminated tiny towns where everyone knew the sheriff by name. Then we started making calls and conducting phone interviews.

After dozens of conversations, we headed to Quincy, a idyllic hamlet in northern California, population ˜1800. There we met Sheriff Greg Hagwood, a 26-year veteran. And we knew we had our man. Hagwood takes his job seriously. He has a mean poker face. He’s likable, friendly, with a dry delivery. But could he act? You be the judge.

We made dozens of traffic stops in the town of Quincy, all eliciting positive reactions. And in a town of 1800 people, over 400 showed up to the ice cream social at the end of the day.

The online video has just launched, so we don’t have reach or business results yet. But at a grassroots level, the stunt and ice cream event brought the town together and garnered a very favorable response. Lots of ice cream eaten. Lots of smiles. And most importantly, lots of genuine connections. Serious fun.