Episode 77 - Pfizer Ad Reviewed by Mars Wrigley UK, Deft and the Coca-Cola Company
In the first Advertisers Watching Ads episode of 2022, we’re discussing the In-Game Vaccination ad from Pfizer, chosen by our partners Contagious.
Players of the video game Cidade Alta who have got the vaccine in real life receive extra protection in the game, in a campaign to raise awareness of vaccination and boost interest.
How will this metaverse appeal to Gen-Z to get the vaccine actually work? Has it made an impact so far or is it just a very clever brand activation? And what will the gaming community make of it?
Watch the ad and see what our guests Cordelia Linacre (Media & Content Director at Mars Wrigley UK), Ian Crocombe (Global Strategy Director at Deft), and Justin Carbonella (Director, Human Insights, The Coca-Cola Company) all thought about it.
Transcript
The following transcript is automatically generated so may not be 100% accurate, but will give you a good idea of what was discussed.
Tom Ollerton 0:08
Hello and welcome to Advertisers Watching Ads. My name is Tom Ollerton. I'm the founder of Automated Creative, and this is a weekly show where brands watch other brands ads and discuss what's good and bad about them. We're brought to you by contagious.com who go out and find the ads every week. Thanks so much, guys, for your ongoing partnership there. So before we get to the ad, let's meet this week's guests.
Cordelia Linacre 0:30
I'm Cordelia. I'm the Media and Content Director for Mars Wrigley UK.
Ian Crocombe 0:35
I'm Ian Crocombe. I am Global Strategy Director at Deft.
Justin Carbonella 0:38
Hi, everyone. I'm Justin Carbonella. I'm a Human Insights Director at Coca-Cola North America.
Tom Ollerton 0:42
Great to have you on the show. Let's see this week's ads.
OK, Ian, what are we actually looking at here? Can you explain what this activation is and how it worked?
Ian Crocombe 1:16
So it's Pfizer. They make the COVID jab that seems to work the best, which is exciting for everybody. They want to connect with Gen Z and getting to take their jabs, so they feel some kind of digital twin. So if you get your vaccination in the real life, then when you go into your wherever it's called Cidade Alta or whatever. When you go into the game, then effectively you can get a level of boost for the, for the period of this as well. It's like a persistent metaverse twinning thing.
Tom Ollerton 1:41
Do you think it's a clever idea? What were the good things about this that you liked, Ian?
Ian Crocombe 1:45
Well, I mean, I think that the video itself is just what it is, and I reckon it's going to be reworked about 5 billion times before it's entered into the awards, but you know. But yeah, I mean, so far the activation, I think it's really, really interesting. And, you know, I like the idea of having some interesting stuff around Pfizer as well.
Tom Ollerton 2:00
And Cordelia, what was your take on this when you first saw it?
Cordelia Linacre 2:03
Yeah, I mean, I think it's quite nice. Good of them to to try and reach that audience, given that's a vaccine take up is lowest. I think it's quite a simple idea, but I think that's no bad thing. Vaccine is good. Vaccine gives you full health bar. I'd be really interested and maybe as the iterations of the video would, video get updated, I'd be really interested in, you know... Did it actually shift behavior? How many people actually did this? I couldn't find consumers talking about the hashtag and trying to get the stick on their arm. Did it work? Did it cut through? And did it drive behaviours? Is what I'd be super interested in.
Tom Ollerton 2:37
And how about you, Justin? What was your reaction to this?
Justin Carbonella 2:40
I think a lot of times when you see these activations that aren't necessarily ads, it's all about the impressions. How many people did this reach? How many, how many people thought about the brand in a different way? Pfizer really isn't a brand that needs more people talking about it right now. I think everyone has pretty high brand awareness of Pfizer right now, but I think the success of this is almost going to be more around... Did it shift those behaviors? And I think if this is going to be deemed a successful campaign, it almost has to not just win from the impression standpoint, it needs to win from that conversion to getting more people vaccinated or at least sharing their vaccine status. I think from a gen pop perspective, this is a great idea, and it'd be hard to say that this isn't a good way to get people involved. But I'm here to see about what the actual gaming audience thinks about this if they're being used in a weird way to promote vaccine.
Ian Crocombe 3:28
So I think what's super interesting is we're moving into this next iteration of the web is. This stuff is going down on Discord, Twitch, Twitter, you know, it's not on LinkedIn, which is where I hang out most of the time. So I think it's really good. And I think, yes, so they're using like Grand Theft Auto V Role-Playing, which is an open world version of GTA, and it means anyone can run their own server. So it's almost like a kind of a Minecraft, ROBLOX, type environment. And within your server you can set your own rules and run it your own way. And I had a little dig into it, but it looks like this is like a big Brazilian community that got on there. It's one of the big e-sports teams, and not one of the big servers have come together. They're not the first brand to do this. Like Brahma Beer have been in there. Tinder advertised in there. It's like... So it's a fairly risk free thing for Pfizer to do. So I would assume it would work, but I do think there's a, there's a I don't want to say, "Would it scale?" But there's definitely a scale problem. Like, to get into this world, you have to be whitelisted on their Discord server, you have to do the dance and everything else. So it's not, it's not for a lot of people to take part in. It's for a lot of people to read about.
Tom Ollerton 4:28
Okay, so Cordelia, what what would have made this better in your view?
Cordelia Linacre 4:33
They obviously touched on the ecosystem in the video. Looks like they worked with some influencers that that are big in the gaming space in Brazil. I think I'd really like to understand how that the entire thing played out. I think the risk... Gaming is such an important area for for a lot of brands to be considering, given its scale. I think the risk with everything gaming for me is that, is that, that those campaigns are made by people who aren't really a part of the ecosystem and it doesn't land right in an authentic way. So, yeah, I'd be really interested in... Did it actually shift behaviors? How many normal unpaid consumers kind of tweeted about that? How many got the badge? Did it shift anyone's views on vaccinations? And I think it's those bits for me that are super important. So, yeah, I think the video touched on the idea with some examples of people talking about it that they use in the ecosystem, but I think it could have been broader in their approach, potentially.
Tom Ollerton 5:28
Justin, do you think this execution will only work in a like sort of quasi-medical environment or could this just work on Candy Crush? Or you know, you could get some new skins on your rifle in Fortnite or whatever. Like the, yes, "Oh, Sport! Boost. Health." You know, there's a, there's an authentic link between those things, but does it really matter if the UK government want to get people to get the booster jab like just, you know, give them a level of Candy Crush, not being a Candy Crush player. I don't know if you level up or whatever that means, but...
Justin Carbonella 5:58
I think so. I mean, every, every game, in and of itself has lives, we always talked about like, "Oh, on my last life." And it's Mario or it's, it's my last try on Candy Crush or I think that there's ways that you can always enhance the experience, it's getting a lot of the games actually call it getting a boost or something like that. I think that it does have universal opportunity to go in there. I think the part for me that was the most interesting is... Does this thing to be branded? And the challenges that come from having something branded and almost a content type structure is you almost run the risk of... Is my brand seem like it's trying too hard? Does the brand even have a role here? Why can't they just get the, the credit without having to have a brand assigned to it?
Tom Ollerton 6:44
Ian, do you think there's a situation in the real world outside of marketing wonderland where a consumer is playing this game and think, "I was going to get the vaccine but now I know I can get a boost in this game. I'm going to trot down to my local pharmacy and get the boost." Does that really? Will a computer game be the thing that gets people over the edge? Or am I still going to elicit the same it's just an awards entry response from you.
Ian Crocombe 7:10
Yeah, I don't know. I just really like it. I mean, I would definitely, you know, I would definitely put that in my CV if I've been involved with it. I think what you're saying about gaming community is being quite protective. Definitely what I've seen. I've got teenage kids who've been through ROBLOX and they've been through Minecraft, and they've been through this GTA mod as well. And, you know, and so, so like, effectively, it's kind of a social network for them. They hang out there with their mates, they go and do missions and tasks. So if a brand shows up with something a bit quirky and fun like, you know, I think people will react, but I think it just normalizes the jab for the kids at that age. So for me, it's it's a little bit more like your favorite TV show being brought to you by someone with a funny plot twist rather than, you know, do you know what I mean? Like, I think it's just a part of the environment rather than the whole reason to be there.
Cordelia Linacre 7:55
I don't think many people playing the game are going to go want to get the virtual jab, go get the real jab the next day. And I actually think in terms of trying to simplify the campaign, I probably would have left all of that. You need to tweet a copy of your vaccine certification because I mean, GTA isn't real life. Like, I don't play GTA. Going around shooting people and you, you're not going to be doing that in real life. I felt like that, that connection wasn't necessarily needed. But I think I think the simple thing of vaccines are good. They help in a game because subtly, the ideas. Of course, they help win more life, I think, is it is a positive thing that counteracts a lot of a lot of false information that exists on digital spaces. I'm sure the gaming space as well. And so, I think is someone going to actually get the vaccine to get the boost? Probably not. But is it a nice, positive, simple message that works within the game? Yeah, I think so.
Tom Ollerton 8:48
So unfortunately, we're at the end of the recording now. So what I'm going to get you guys to do, if you don't mind, is give this activation a vote out of five. So one, two, three... A four, a four, and a five from Ian. Fantastic. Ian, Justin, Cordelia, thank you so much. We will see you all next week.
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